The Last Dance, 01/06
By Lorelei Sieja


Tracy glanced up from her paperwork.  There it was again!
He was smiling.  She grinned, wondering if something had
happened recently in his "secret" relationship with the
medical examiner.  Nick had been so moody and distracted
these past weeks, that she was beginning to worry about her
own safety on the job with him, but suddenly, he was a
different man.

Nick added his signature to the report with a broad flourish
then added it to the growing stack of completed work.  Tracy
blushed as Nick caught her staring at him.  "What?" he
asked.  Then, glancing down at his shirtfront, "Did I spill
something on me?"

"No," Tracy said, grinning nervously.  "I've just never seen
you like this."

He stared at her for a moment, then just shrugged.  He even
whistled tunelessly as he pulled yet another report from the
endless pile and began to tackle the empty spaces with a
fervor that was commendable, given his penchant for
procrastinating.  Tracy folded her hands under her chin and
examined him, still unwilling to let it go.

"Are you sure you're all right?  I mean, you did just bury
your grandmother.  You did, really, didn't you?  You
wouldn't have just said that, to spend a little more time
with the coroner?"

Nick put down his pen.  Leaning back in his chair, he gave
Tracy his full, undivided attention for perhaps the first
time in months.  "Tracy, I've told you before, Natalie and I
are just friends."

He was good, she decided.  He certainly sounded convincing.

"I didn't know my grandmother.  I'd only met her right
before her death, and she wasn't herself.  She was--
violent.  Suffering.  Her death, was a... a blessing, for
everyone."  Nick lowered his eyes, a look of pain marring
the handsome features.

"I'm sorry, Nick," Tracy murmured.

He shrugged off her sympathy, almost like the Nick she was
used to.  "I told you, I didn't really know her.  But, her
death affected my father greatly.  I guess, I'm still a
little worried about him."

Nick had a father?  No one had known he'd even had a
grandmother, until he took two days off from work recently,
ostensibly to attend the funeral, although no one from the
precinct had been invited.  Tracy had learned more about
Nick's private life in the past ten minutes than she'd
learned in almost a year as his partner.  "We all handle
grief differently," she said, more to keep the conversation
rolling as long as Nick was willing to share, than because
she really knew what she was talking about.  "I think it's
really important to talk about it though.  Some people just
clam up and try to go on, ignoring the memories of the
deceased, and I don't think that's healthy.  Can you get
your dad to tell you about her, since you don't seem to have
known her?  It might help him."

Nick raked his fingers through the unruly hair that had a
tendency to curl, not managing to do much to straighten it.
"You don't know him," he said.  "He's not what you would
call a "sharer".  And I have never called him "dad"."

"What do you call him?"

Then she saw the familiar invisible shield dropping, as Nick
shifted uncomfortably in his chair.  He picked up the pen,
dropping it again, fidgeting boyishly.  "Master, father,
sir... never dad," he whispered.  Then he pushed back from
his desk and stood.  She watched him head into the locker
room.

Tracy sighed.  Well, if Nick had opened up once, maybe he
would do it again.  Maybe, she would begin to know and
understand her mysterious partner.  "Master?" she thought to
herself.  Was his dad really that old-fashioned?  The term
implied power and dominance.  Nick could be pretty
intimidating himself.  If his father could instill fear in
him, now a grown man, she certainly would not want to meet
Mr. Knight Sr.  But maybe this new knowledge helped to
explain some of Nick's peculiarities.  She felt a strange
sense of connection with him.  They shared something else
now, besides hair and eye color and a job.  Her dad could
compete for the Demanding Parents of the Year award himself.


Nick tore open his locker.  He reached into the deep pocket
of his coat for the small emergency flask.  With a quick
look around the empty locker room, he swigged the warm
elixir, drowning his passion and his confusion.

Tracy hadn't meant anything, he was sure.  She couldn't
possibly know his complex relationship with LaCroix, which
had become even more so recently.  His life here are as a
vampire homicide cop in Toronto was becoming curiouser and
curiouser.

LaCroix was becoming nicer, Natalie was meaner.  Janette was
gone, Urs was back...  Nick no longer knew what he wanted or
needed, only that he did both want and need something.  Or
some one.  He drank again, deeply, concentrating on the
pleasant sensations as the thick liquid coated his throat.

A light wind blew in, followed by a soft click as the locker
room door was bolted shut.  Nick whirled around to face the
one he called master.  He tried to summon up the old
feelings anger and indignation.  He had always resented
LaCroix's intrusion into his private, "mortal" lives
before.  But he couldn't do it.  The being before him now
looked much the same as always.  He was dressed in black,
his arms at his side, his straight back and broad shoulders
giving the aura of power and control.  But Nick had seen him
weep for the death of his child, his mother, his master...
the demon spawn named "Divia".

"What do you want?" Nick asked coolly.

"Only to see you, Nicholas," the ancient said, his silken
voice almost a caress.

Nick didn't speak.  Lost in thought, he corked the flask and
returned it to his coat pocket.  He closed the locker and
leaned on it, his eyes downcast.

"I sensed you were troubled," LaCroix continued.  "Forgive
me for intruding, if my presence is not wanted."

Nick looked up in surprise.  He had never heard LaCroix
apologize before!  Not say it and mean it.  LaCroix turned
as if to leave, and impulsively, Nick spoke out to stop him.
"No!  Please, don't."

LaCroix remained, close but not touching.  Nick looked into
the familiar ice blue eyes-- sometimes intimidating,
sometimes scornful, but today, the eyes merely reflected his
concern.  He rushed at his master and wrapped his arms
around him in a firm embrace.

LaCroix took a sudden step backward to regain his balance.
He put his hands on Nick's shoulders, intending to tear his
protege loose from the tender touch, but he hesitated.
Hadn't he come here to comfort his son?  He had sensed a
sudden, overwhelming confusion through their link, and had
come to identify its source.  It would seem that since
Divia's death, he had felt even more possessive of his
favorite child.  The strength of these emotions was almost
frightening.  If he should ever lose this one, would he want
to continue his existence?  Nicholas was his only weakness.
It could be a dangerous, untenable position, yet the younger
one had absolutely no idea how much power he wielded over
his master.  The ancient placed his arms around him and
returned the embrace.

"I never thanked you," Nick whispered hoarsely.

LaCroix swallowed past a constricting discomfort in his
throat.

"For Urs.  For helping me.  For so many things," Nick
continued.

"You came back for me," LaCroix reminded him.  "If not for
you, Divia would have succeeded and I would be dead."

Nicholas's embrace tightened.  There was much they should
discuss, LaCroix realized, but not here.  He touched the
golden hair for a brief moment, savoring its silken texture,
and leaned forward, breathing in deeply the scent that was
so uniquely Nicholas.  He brushed at two red tears that
stained his son's pale face, bringing them to his lips and
savoring the intensity of his passion contained in the
minute offering.  Then he straightened, regaining his
composure.  "Come to me tonight, my son?  When you finish
here?"

Nick pulled back, momentarily resisting his master.  But the
words had been asked, not demanded.  He thought about work,
and his usual routine.  He could follow Nat home, or she
might stop by the loft for a while.  They might watch a
video, chat over their work, or maybe take a walk by the
lake before sunrise.  But Nat was different lately.  And
Nick discovered he really didn't want to see her.  At least,
not until he figured some things out.  Still, a lonely day
alone in his loft was not appealing either.  If Janette was
still here, he could seek her out, but... Nick thought about
his new feelings for another vampire, and knew he could not
share them with Janette.

He stared at his master's controled features, seeing no
anger and no stipulations.  "Thank you," he said simply.  "I
will."

LaCroix gave no outward sign of his pleasure, yet Nick felt
something through the bond they shared.  For a moment, he
felt LaCroix's surprise.  Then the ancient vampire left as
suddenly as he had come.  Nick stared at the empty spot his
master had left in his wake.  Was this a mistake?  Would he
be sorry tomorrow, if he renewed old ties?  Maybe...  but
Nick needed to talk to some one.  And LaCroix was
available.


End, part 1/6




Courage

____________________________________________________________________
Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at
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>got blood?


<G>

>Bear with me, please.
>This digest mode would be what I should choose while I'm gone so my mailbox
>doesn't fill up right?
>Because I can always go to the ravenawards site and read anything I've
missed?


Hi Gale! and anyone else who would like to know.

I can't remember if there is a NOMAIL option, but that is the one you want
which tells onelist to not send you mail until you tell it otherwise. But if
that is not an option you may have to unsubscribe then resubscribe when you
get back. Digest option will send you a daily chunk of comments and stories
from the ravenawards list instead of the individual emails. Since it's not
very busy at the moment, I would recommend just going to Digest.<g>

Have a good time!
Forgive me if this doesn't quite sound coherant as I have just woken up and
my eyes won't focus properly yet!<g>

Kylie.
knightraven@...
"What a wonderful thing humanity is...Passionate, intelligent, inquisitive,
generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit, and above all...delicious!"
Check out the Raven Awards at my webpage!!
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
Join the Raven Awards for Forever Knight Fiction at
http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards

Hi Kylie,

got blood?

Bear with me, please.
This digest mode would be what I should choose while I'm gone so my mailbox
doesn't fill up right?
Because I can always go to the ravenawards site and read anything I've missed?

thanks, Gale

Disclaimer: Nick, Nat and Sydney don't belong to me.  They belong to
Parriott, Cohen, Sony/Tristar, etc.  Characters you don't recognize (i.e.,
Natalie's old boyfriends) do belong to me and shouldn't be used without my
permission (but who would want to use them?).

This story takes place before the first season, a few months after Nick and
Natalie met in the morgue.  They're working on the cure, but are still polite
strangers.  Nick has recently joined the Toronto police force.

The story is told in first person from Natalie's perspective.

Oh, any resemblance between Natalie's ex-boyfriends and those of my friends'
and mine is entirely coincidental.

Take it Like a Man
by Deanie
October 1999

Take it like a man, steady and strong
Not a lot of fuss and carrying on
True to a promise I can write in stone
Take it like a man who knows about love
Every little thing that a girl dreams of
Someone wise enough to understand
If you want this woman's heart,
Take it like a man
-- from "Take it Like a Man" by Michelle Wright


I strode into the room, and roughly pulled off my short velvet jacket before
balling it up and throwing it to the ground.

"Ugh!" I yelled.  Yet another horrible date.  What was it?  Was I cursed?
Destined to date losers throughout all eternity?

Sighing, I went over by the door.  I shouldn't take out my anger on my poor
coat, even if I did buy it to wear to the symphony with Jeffrey.  Besides, it
looked really good with my black velvet dress.  "Not that I'll wear it a
second time," I muttered, hanging the coat up in the front closet.  "Because
I am never dating again."

Sydney, obviously sensing his mother's distress, snuggled his fuzzy body up
against my legs.  Picking him up, I walked into the kitchen.  Funny how the
most reliable man in my life was my cat.  "If you were human, Sydney, I'd
marry you in an instant."  I set him down, putting fresh water in his bowl.
"Even as a cat you're better than the losers I seem to date."  He deserved a
treat for being the most faithful man in my life, I thought, getting him a
kitty treat.

I walked over to the refrigerator and looked inside.  A carton of cottage
cheese, a six pack of diet cola, and a moldy bagel greeted me.  "This is sad,
Sydney.  Even looking at my refrigerator you can tell I'm single."  In the
door of the refrigerator was a bottle of champagne I had been saving for a
special occasion.  "Escaping that date calls for a celebration," I said,
picking up the bottle.  I hesitated, then put it back.  "Nah, this is beyond
champagne - it requires chocolate."  I opened my overflowing freezer, jumping
out of the way to avoid being hit by a falling TV dinner.  "Attack of the
killer lasagna," I muttered, putting it back in the freezer.  Digging behind
the stacks of frozen dinners, I found my quarry - a half-gallon of Double
Chocolate Fudge Chip.

Bypassing the cabinet with the bowls, I pulled a spoon out of the drawer.
With Sydney following, I went in and sat on the couch.  "What is it with me,
Sydney?  Is there something wrong with me?  Why do I seem to get all the
losers?"  I sighed, taking another bite of ice cream.  "This one...this one
takes the cake.  He was a lawyer - successful career, good future...He seemed
so nice at first..." Stabbing the spoon in the ice cream, I stared down at
Sydney.  "I had no idea he was so...kinky...I'd tell you what he wanted to
do, Syd, but you're too young to know about those kinds of things."  Besides,
I'd never subject my baby to such filth.

"I'm cursed.  That must be it.  Or I give out some special pheromone that
attracts weirdoes and losers."  Taking the ice cream with me, I went into my
bedroom to change.  Alas, my dating history was full of losers, beginning
with Lewis in high school.  The only boy who had ever asked me out, he had
seemed so much like me.  Smarter than the rest of the class, kind of shy and
socially awkward…but even he wasn't interested in me -- only interested in
playing doctor in the back seat of his dad's car.  Typical teenage boy stuff,
I said? I still had hope.  Even these immature boys would have to grow up
someday, right?

Wrong, I thought, slipping out of my black velvet dress.  There was Phillip
in college, who tried to plagiarize my research project and pass it off as
his own.  And he was only the beginning.  I took another spoonful of the
comforting chocolate concoction.  Lately I seemed to be dating world-champion
losers.  There was Jeffrey, the kinky one; Peter, who needed to know where I
was twenty-four hours a day; Craig, who 'needed his space'; Trey, who
'forgot' to mention he was married; Doug, who talked about nothing but his
ex-wife...not to mention Scott, who was hiding a drug problem and a police
record.  I could go back years and still not find one nice guy.

Sighing, I pulled my sweats out of the dresser drawer.  I had almost given up
on finding that one special person...the one who would love me for who I was.
  Someone who wouldn't care that I didn't look like a supermodel...that my job
involved cutting up dead bodies and I frequently smelled like formaldehyde.

Like most little girls, I fantasized about the prince who would come and
sweep me off my feet.  Someone who was tall and handsome and rode away with
me into the sunset on his white horse...Unfortunately, as I got older, those
foolish dreams of childhood had to die.  I slipped into the comforting warmth
of my favorite fuzzy sweats.  Grabbing the ice cream, I went back out to the
living room, Sydney at my heels.

As an adult, thought I was loathe to admit it, I fantasized about my prince
as well.  He'd be someone with strength of character; someone  noble and
honest, who kept his word and didn't use me for his own purposes.  A man who
didn't whine when I had to work late or when I was beeped in the middle of a
date.  Who didn't want me to be his maid or cook or laundress.  He would be
capable of sharing my burdens as well as dumping his own on my shoulders.
He'd be romantic and bring me flowers for my birthday, and be a man who liked
to cuddle in front of the fireplace on a cold winter's night.  Someone who
would make love to me like I was the only woman in the world, the only woman
he loved and wanted...like my pleasure was more important than his own.

I settled down on the couch.  Yeah, right...like this guy, this prince
existed outside of my imagination.  He certainly wasn't Jeffrey...or any of
the other guys I had met lately...except...

"No, he's a patient," I murmured through another mouthful of ice cream.  Not
to mention being a vampire.  Now there was a relationship destined for
failure...I mean, he was gorgeous, no doubt about it.  And he was protective,
worried that he would hurt me.  He showed up for our meetings on time, put up
with my endless questions and blood tests.  He wouldn't always answer me, but
he never lied.  He was really trying to make something of his life, to find
some noble purpose - even joining the police force...despite the irony of a
vampire homicide detective.

I gave the Double Chocolate Fudge Chip a look of disgust.  While it did make
me feel a little better, ice cream was no way to solve my problems.  All it
would do is make me five pounds heavier in the morning.

So, dislodging Sydney from my lap, I got up off the couch, and returned the
ice cream to its proper place in my refrigerator -- behind the killer lasagna.

Tonight was worthless, I thought. I should just go to sleep.  Picking up Syd
and turning off the lights, I trundled off to my bedroom...with one man still
on my mind.

I would not let myself fall for him.  I had problems with guys with thirty
years of emotional baggage - I couldn't imagine the burden that would come
with hundreds...And he was a patient.  I was his doctor.  He had an
interesting problem I was trying to solve.  I was trying to help him, not
seduce him.

I settled myself in my bed, curling up under my comforter.  Sydney climbed up
on the bed, nestling next to me.

As I drifted off to sleep, my last thoughts were of Nick.  I wouldn't let
myself care about him, couldn't love him.  Still, fantasies never hurt
anyone...

Author's Notes: I was driving in the car, and this song came on.  Suddenly, I
was hit with inspiration and compelled to write (luckily I had just pulled
into my parking space, so I wasn't writing and driving at the same time).
The story practically wrote itself (which doesn't happen to me very often).

What do you think?  Feedback to DeanieBTVS@....

Disclaimer:  Nick and Natalie don't belong to me.  They belong to Parriott
and Cohen and the other TPTB.  "You're The Only One for Me" is sung by Allure
off the "Runaway Bride" soundtrack.

Author's Notes:
Many, many thanks to my beta-readers Karen and Colleen.

Permission is given to archive this at the FKfanfic site, the FTP site, and
the Mortal Love site (if they want it)...

** indicates song lyrics



You're The Only One For Me
by Deanie
written September 1999
(posted to fkfic-l 10/15/99)

**I've gotten close so many times
Trying to fit in, I don't know why
I had to leave behind the dream that could be mine**

In my centuries-long life, I've known a lot of women.  I've even loved some,
and been loved in return.  But most of this life has been spent in a
masquerade, making futile attempts to fit into a human world I could never
truly be a part of.  And as such, with every mortal endeavor, I failed.  Like
with Alyssa... I fell in love, and in my mortal pretense sought to unite with
her in marriage.  Only our wedding bed became her deathbed; my love the
instrument of her death.

I had abandoned all hope of finding that mythological once-in-a-lifetime
love, that which motivated the troubadours to sing and inspired medieval
tales of courtly romance.  Even if such an emotion existed, creatures such as
I were never meant to have that connection to another.  I was destined to
walk this endless night alone.

**I thought that I would never find
Someone whose heart could read my mind
Now I don't have to hide
Because you are in my life**

Until the day I met Natalie.  Until one day I was caught in an explosion, and
awakened on a slab in the morgue.  When I felt a gentle touch on my cheek and
heard tenderness in a sweetly melodic voice.

Women tended to experience one of two reactions upon seeing the beast within
me:  either their terror would not let them face the truth or they longed for
a seductive dance with death.  But Natalie somehow breached the divide,
regarding me with a combination of the fear and fascination.  She was clearly
apprehensive yet didn't run screaming in terror.  She wasn't simply attracted
to the wildness; instead, she was intrigued by something she had never seen
before.

At the time of that first meeting, I never dreamed that after all these
years, she'd still be here beside me.  Our relationship has been through the
joy and laughter, setbacks and frustrations, rage and pain.  She's seen me at
my most bestial, vampire barely controlled; she's seen me at my most human,
craving affection so long denied.  I don't know how she puts up with me
sometimes.  I'm stubborn, guilty, angst-ridden and oblivious to her feelings
-- and that's just my human side.  Add to that my murderous fiend that I
daily struggle to control, and it's a wonder she hasn't run long before now.

But with her, I can be something I haven't been in nearly eight hundred years
-- myself.  As much of myself as I am able to be around a mortal -- both man
and vampire.  She doesn't cringe away from the darkness within me, but
embraces the opportunity to further understand my life and my condition.
True, she cannot completely comprehend the vampire, but she tries.  She tries
to understand both man and beast; and with her I have a freedom I've never
felt before.

**I promise you that love won't be easy
I promise you there'll be times apart
But I swear that it comes from my heart
When I promise you're the only one for me**

She is the only woman I have ever truly loved -- with a love that goes beyond
friendship, beyond passion.  This kind of love makes me believe I still have
a soul, because such intense emotions could only come from its depths.

But what can I do about this love?  The right thing to do would be to let
Natalie go, leave her free to love someone else.  She deserves someone she
can build a real life with -- create a family, have children of her own.
What right do I have to deny her these mortal pleasures that I long for
myself?  What could I give her that could make up for the difficulties in a
human/vampire relationship?  Could my love possibly be enough to sustain her
through the trials ahead?

I don't even know if we would ever be able to consummate our love.  Even now,
I fear being unable to control the beast.  Just a whiff of her perfume, the
touch of her hand on mine can inflame my senses to the edge of my control.
With the fervor of true passion how could I ever hope to control the
bloodlust? What kind of future can we have?

**Sometimes I know it's hard for you
Wondering if we'll make it through
But if you gave me time
I'll show you that you're mine
I'll promise you**

I know she's had her doubts about our 'relationship.'  Too many times I've
left her wondering if her love is reciprocated.  It is, more than she knows.
I've endeavored to deny my feelings, but they're too strong.  I can't hide
behind this platonic facade any longer.

If I were going to do the right thing, I would be leaving Toronto now.
Leaving Natalie alone to live a normal human life.  But I could no more
abandon my ladylove than I could pierce my own heart with a wooden stake.
Without her, life is meaningless.  I might as well walk into the dawn.

Crazy as it may seem, the only thing to do now is love her, to show her that
she possesses my heart and soul.  She is the sun in my endless night, the
shining beacon calling me home -- the one I could never live without.

**You showed me who I am
I know you understand
You taught me how to trust, not be afraid of love
I'm not afraid to look in your eyes
I surrender to love, I open up and let you inside
I promise**

She has brought changes in my life, made me experience feelings that had been
long forgotten.  With her by my side, I have faith.  Faith in her and in our
love; even faith in myself.

I have been able to share myself with her in a way I never dreamed could be
possible.  In opening my heart to her scrutiny, I opened my heart to her love.

In learning to love her I have begun to accept who I am.  Despite the
atrocities I have perpetrated, there is good within me.  The vampire makes
giving into the darkness so effortless, but I have the power to fight.  My
struggle will never be easy, but it is not as futile as I had once thought.
With her by my side, anything is possible.

With a velvet-covered box in my pocket, I try to suppress my nerves as I go
to admit my love to the woman who brings joy to my existence.


**I promise you that love won't be easy
I promise you there'll be times apart
But I swear that it comes from my heart
When I promise you're the only one for me**



This started out as an attempt at fluff...and ended up with brooding.
Despite my best attempts, I have yet to write a fanfic story without
brooding.  On the up side, I'm good at writing brooding <g>.
Feedback, please.  It's better than chocolate.  To DeanieBTVS@....

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (9/9)

"Nick?  Nick, c'mon.  Wake up."

He struggled to open his eyes as he heard Nat's voice
calling him.  Surprisingly, eyelids were very heavy things.
Suddenly he became aware of another voice in addition to
Nat's.

"I don't think he's awake, Nat."

"Yes he is, he's twitching."

"People twitch when they're asleep..."

"Yes, but not Nick."

"Are you sure he's ok?"

"Yes, I gave him a transfusion."

"I dunno, he looks pale..."

"Schanke... he's always pale.  Now c'mon, Nick.  Open your
eyes."

Nick once again attempted to open his eyes.  He succeeded,
only to get a very blurry image of Natalie and Schanke
staring down over him.  That couldn't be Schanke, could it?
What the... Blinking a few times, things finally came into
focus.  How could Schanke be here?  "Schanke?  Wh... What?"

"Is that any way to greet your partner?" Schanke said,
amused.

"Huh?" Nick said, extremely confused.

Natalie took this moment to step in, realizing that Schanke
wasn't going to make any move to explain the situation.
"Schanke came home with me, I told him you were back, I
couldn't help myself.  He was out parking the car when I
came in..."

Schanke looked at Nick sheepishly.  "We tried to call ahead
but you sleep like the dead, you know?"

Nick sat bolt upright.  "But... but..."

Schanke smiled.  "Relax, Nick.  I know about what you are.
When I came through the door and saw what was going on, I
just reacted.  Let's just say that Nat's one broom handle
short of a bunch and LaCroix's plus one.  Ok?"

"LaCroix's dead?  Wait... You KNOW?"  Schanke's words
finally caught on and Nick was absolutely stunned.  And all
at once he grew frightened at the prospect of another mortal
knowing his secret.

"Well, awhile before you left I grew suspicious and I
started questioning who you really were.  LaCroix took me
off the trail, but after you left I got to thinking and
well... when Nat said you were back it kinda clicked."

Nick turned to Nat, slightly angry.  "Nat..."

Natalie looked at him with a slightly guilty look.  "I
didn't tell him anything, Nick, I swear to God.  Well,
except that you were back."

Nick opened his mouth to speak when Schanke chimed in.
"Look, Nick.  Don't blame Natalie for this.  When she showed
up at my door looking more peppy than my wife on a shopping
spree I knew something was up.  Myra and I pried it out of
her.  I swear I'll never tell a soul, Nick.  I'm just glad
you're alive."

Nick was so overwhelmed that he couldn't speak.  But one
thought did strike him in his stupor.  Nervously he got up
off the bed where he had been placed on and proceeded to
walk into the living room, followed silently by Natalie and
Schanke.  Although he had to stop once to gain his
equilibrium, he made it in a few seconds.

LaCroix's body lay still on the floor in a puddle of blood,
the jagged edge of a broken off broom handle sticking out of
his back.  Nick stared in disbelief.  Rage washed over him
and he started to shake as the disbelief was replaced by
anger.  "DAMN YOU!" he said as he kicked the still body in
uncensored fury.  His eyes blazed red and he snarled,
kicking LaCroix again.

Surprisingly, it was Schanke's voice that broke through his
rage.  "Woah!  Nick, calm down, he's dead!  I know he hurt
you, but this is _not_ the way to have a family reunion..."

Nick stopped and let his vampire visage fade only to be
replaced by a look of guilt.  Schanke was right, but that
didn't mean it didn't hurt.  "He has been the cause of 800
years of torment..." he said, his voice sounding so low that
it was obvious the vampire was not far from the surface.

Nick turned to Natalie.  "Nat, what time is it?"  He asked,
but he didn't need an answer.  He could feel by instinct
that the sun had risen.

"It's 7:14 A.M., why?"  Natalie looked at Nick curiously.

Nick looked at Schanke and then to her.  "Open the blinds,
Nat," he said flatly as he stepped back to the front door.

"Nick?"

"Just do it, Nat.  I'll be ok," Nick said, his eyes coming
to rest upon LaCroix's body.

She nodded, still worried, and opened the blinds.  Rays of
sunlight penetrated the room.  Natalie observed Nick's
fear as the natural light flooded the room, but he quickly
hid it away beneath that emotional mask he was so good at
keeping once he had established that he was indeed out of
harm's way.

LaCroix's body started to smoke and burn almost violently
and Schanke jumped back in surprise.  Nick merely watched
silently as his master was reduced to mere ashes.

When the body finally disintegrated, Nick shook with relief.
"It's over... It's really over," he said in disbelief as he
sank to the floor.

Natalie moved to clean up the remains, finally understanding
why Nick had wanted the blinds to be open.  Staking his
master had not worked in the past, and Nick had every right
to want to be sure.  But he was right, it was finally over.

Schanke broke the silence that had ensued.  "Well, Nick.
Obviously you two want to be alone.  Whatever story you come
up with, I'll go along with it, just lemme know.  I guess I
should be leaving now..."

Nick got up and smiled.  "Thanks, Schanke.  Thanks for
everything."

Schanke grinned and slapped Nick on the back in a friendly-
like way.  "Anytime, pardner..." he said, letting voice slip
into that familiar drawl that Nick hadn't heard in a year.
"Lemme know when I can expect to be best man at your wedding,
by the way..." Schanke smiled as he left, shaking his head
as he went.

Nick turned to Natalie as the door shut.  Silence hovered in
the air and time stretched into what seemed like hours.
He merely stared blankly at her.

It was then that the pent up emotions of the last few hours
finally hit him and Nick did something he never thought he
would do.  He laughed.  Of all the things he had ever
considered he would do if LaCroix died, laughing was
certainly not high on his list.

"Nick?  Are you ok?" Nat said, concernedly.

"Nat, don't you see?  I'm free!  I'm finally free!  He'll
never be there to threaten you or me or anyone again.  I
can search for a cure without interruption."  /And I can
finally say how I feel without fear.../

Natalie didn't know what to say.  She merely listened as
Nick continued to ramble on.

"Natalie, do you hear what I'm saying?  We're free!  I can
go back to being a detective and he'll never bother me about
it again!"

Nat smiled, but suddenly turned serious.  "Nick, how _are_
we going to explain your disappearance?"

He looked at her.  "Honestly... I don't know.  But there's
something I really must take care of before we even begin to
think of that."

Nat looked at Nick, questioningly.  "And what is that?"

Nick grabbed her and she gave a startled gasp as he began to
kiss her passionately and with utter abandon.  He stopped
after a minute or so, allowing her to catch her breath.
"That," he said with a smile, noticing her flushed face.

Natalie looked at him, completely surprised by his sudden
action.  "Nick... I..." she tried to speak, but was at a
total loss for words.

"Natalie, I am completely and totally head-over-heels in
love with you" Nick said, his eyes sparkling.  When he saw
her surprise, he added in a soft voice, "Just thought you'd
like to know."

Nat looked at him in amazement.  He was absolutely serious.
Nick had _never_ been very open about his feelings.  She
felt a warm fuzzy feeling slowly envelope her and she smiled.
"You don't know how long I've waited to hear that, Nick..."

"Yes I do.  I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner," Nick told her
seriously.

She gazed at him with her eyes glistening.  Her elated look
was slowly replaced with a mischievous one.  "Well I can
help you make up for it if you want..."

He grinned.  "Absolutely."

"Kiss me again!" she ordered sternly.

"Ok," Nick said softly, slowly taking her into a close
embrace and doing exactly as she bid.

THE END

Thanks for staying with the story through the end.  I left
enough loose ends (I hope) for a sequel if you want one. Let
me know if you want me to kill this story where it stands or
keep going with it :)

**This is the end of Part 9/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (8/9)

"Nicholas..."

Nick started awake at the sound of that old familiar voice
ringing through his ears.  He didn't even have time to fully
realize what was going on before he was grabbed and harshly
flung to the floor, his head hitting the coffee table with a
crack as he made the unplanned trip onto the carpet.

He rolled over, stunned on the floor.  Blood was flowing
freely down his forehead and he wiped it away as best he
could.

"You didn't think you'd actually killed me, did you?
Honestly Nicholas..."

Nick looked at his master, slowly overcoming the
lethargicness that accompanied a severe head trauma.
"LaCroix, please just leave me alone," he said. His tongue
felt like lead but he struggled to continue.  "I don't want
this, can't you see?"

Nick got up off the floor slowly, trying not to take notice
of the earsplitting headache that had replaced the wooziness.
His metabolism still hadn't recovered all that well since he
had escaped, so injuries were all the more serious.  Not to
mention the fact that his earlier hunger was returning with
a vengeance.

He allowed himself to release the vampire for a brief
instant to emphasize his point as he gestured to himself.
"I don't want this, LaCroix," he said as his sad golden eyes
watched and waited for a reaction from his master.

LaCroix had watched Nick, amused at his plea.  He walked
around Nicholas in a predatory circle as he spoke.  "You
can't even pretend to believe you know what you want,
Nicholas.  And I've come to realize that as long as our
_dear_ coroner is still alive, you will continue to follow
this ridiculous pursuit."

Nick felt his anger swelling as his sire spoke and he
struggled to keep it at bay.  Already injured and hungry, he
wouldn't last long against the obviously completely healed
2000 year old vampire.  "LaCroix," he pleaded, "Don't harm
her or I swear I'll kill you myself."

LaCroix raised an eyebrow in reaction, but his face was
otherwise an emotionless mask.  "You didn't seem to do a
very good job the last two times you've tried....  Really,
Nicholas, you honestly amuse me sometimes.  We had a deal.
This is for Fleur as much as it is for your well-being."

Nick started to speak, only to have the wind knocked out of
him as LaCroix switched from talkative to violent.  He felt
the bones in his ribcage snap as he was slammed up against
a nearby wall.  A firm hand kept him from sliding down the
wall to the floor.  As he struggled to breathe he felt
LaCroix's hot breath on his neck behind him and a sharp fang
scraped his skin. "You should be thankful that I'm only
asking for her death and not yours."

"Please don't..." Nick pleaded, gasping at the pain those
two simple words brought to his chest.  He squeezed his eyes
shut and silently prayed for the first time in centuries.
He prayed for himself, but most of all he prayed for Nat.

All at once Nick heard a ripping sound and felt a searing
pain that started in his neck and spread down into the tips
of his limbs.  A scream escaped his lips as he felt himself
get lightheaded.  The roaring pain of being drained was
incredible and he felt himself weaken to the point that the
only thing keeping him standing was LaCroix's iron grip.

He waited for unconsciousness to take him away from the pain,
but it did not.  A numbness was spreading through out his
body, and he realized that LaCroix had stopped just soon
enough to prevent such a blessing from coming about.

"You will watch her die, that will be your punishment for
your transgressions."  LaCroix whispered in his ear.  As if
on cue, a click sounded as a key was placed in the lock and
it began to turn.

Nick tried to warn Natalie before she came in, but his
attempted yell came out as a slurred, unintelligible whisper.
He stared in horror as the door opened and Natalie entered.

"Nick, are you awake?  Schanke's..." her voice trailed off
as she saw Nick and LaCroix up against the wall.  "What are
_you_ doing here?" she said evenly as her eyes came to rest
on LaCroix.

LaCroix released his hold on Nick and barely paid it mind
as his protege slipped to the floor, unable to support
himself. Natalie tried to remain calm as LaCroix stared at
her with a look of utter malice.  "I'm here to reclaim my
son," he said as he advanced upon her.

Natalie tried desperately not to show her fear.  She noticed
that Nick was awake and she tried to gauge the damage while
keeping tabs on LaCroix.  Gasping, she realized that LaCroix
had drained him, although not completely.  "Don't you
realize that he won't come back to you?" she said, angrily.

"Not with you around anyway..." Nat gasped as LaCroix moved
behind her, faster than she could see.  "I will give you the
same treatment as poor Nicholas.  However, I'm sure you know
that you're much less resilient than him..."

Natalie opened her mouth to defend herself but Nick spoke
before she had the chance.  He had managed somehow to sit up,
despite the obvious trauma to his body.  "LaCroix, if you
hurt her I will never, EVER, come back to you.  I'd rather
die."  His voice was weak and slightly slurred, but it
caught LaCroix's attention.

The master vampire's anger and frustration were evident
despite his attempts to hide it.  "How unfortunate," he said
flatly.  He merely looked calmly back and forth between Nick
and Nat as if he couldn't decide quite what to do.  Suddenly
his eyes narrowed and his face changed to that of pure rage
as he came to his final decision.  "Then I guess I will have
to kill you both.  If I can't have you, then no one can."

This really surprised Nick.  LaCroix had to be bluffing...
Nick of all people knew how much LaCroix wished to possess
him and make him return to the fold...  Nick swallowed hard
when he realized LaCroix was probably going to beat him some
more before he went any further in this discussion.

Sure enough, LaCroix pushed Natalie aside with a hard shove
raced to Nick's hunched form.  "I will kill you and let you
die with the knowledge that all of your pathetic mortal
friends are next."  Grabbing Nick's shoulders, he pinned him
once again to the wall.  Nick's eyes opened wide.  Perhaps
LaCroix was serious...  "Now..." LaCroix paused as he let
his hot breath waft over the nape of Nick's neck, "You will
pay for your defiance."  Nick once again felt his master's
fangs in his neck, but he didn't have the strength to
struggle.  So this was how it was going to end...

Nick let out one last soft plea, "Please, LaCroix..."
But his sire paid no attention.  He felt the draining
feeling once again and his vision grew fuzzy.

And all at once, LaCroix stopped as if surprised.  Nick let
out a pained gasp as LaCroix's body was rammed into his by
some unseen force.  Both he and LaCroix fell to the floor in
a heap and he could vaguely make out Nat's frightened voice
as he lost consciousness.  And... Schanke's?

**This is the end of Part 8/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

*****

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (7/9)

Natalie turned as Nick entered the room in his old jeans and
shirt.  She hadn't seen him in that in a long time and it
pained her to see that he barely filled it.  He really had
lost a lot of weight.  "Nat, we've got to talk."

Nat looked at him seriously.  "I thought that's what we've
been doing since you got here," she said as she felt a lump
forming in her throat.  This was where he was going to say
he had to move on.  She knew it.  Logically speaking, he
really couldn't have stayed, not after a year's absence.
Even after what he had said, she was stupid to believe that
he would stay.

"Yes, we have.  But that's not what I meant.  We need to
talk about this, about us," Nick said softly, hoping that
she would understand why.

Natalie sat down on the couch, tears glistening in her eyes.
"You're leaving again, aren't you?"  It wasn't really a
question, but rather a statement conceding defeat.

Nick was honestly surprised at her response.  "Nat, no,
that's not what I meant!" he said, almost frightened, as he
raced to her side and wrapped his arms around her.  "Nat, I
could NEVER leave you, not again.  I will not say another
word until you understand that.  Nat, even if I did have to
move on, I'd do everything in my power to take you with me,"
he whispered in a hoarse voice, as fiercely as his churning
emotions would allow.

Natalie looked at him with relief.  "Oh, Nick.  I'm sorry, I
assumed too much..."

"It's alright... It's my fault that you feel this way anyway.
I should've never provoked LaCroix like that, I should've..."
he stopped as Natalie placed a finger over his lips,
silencing him.

"Nick, that was NOT your fault.  It wasn't.  I will not have
you feeling guilty about this.  You already have enough
guilt for the world and then some.  At least spare yourself
this," she said passionately.  She had seen the results of
his excessive guilt before, and it pained her to see him
giving into them again.

Nick averted his eyes, suddenly finding the carpet a very
interesting color and texture.  "Nick, I want you to say
it.  Say it wasn't your fault."

Nick looked up at her, slightly surprised.  He opened his
mouth and closed it just as quickly.  He averted his eyes
again, not able to comply with her request.

"Nick, say it."

Nick looked at her and her silently pleading expression and
tried again, finding his voice for the first time.  "It
wasn't my fault," he mumbled, barely loud enough for Natalie
to hear, as he averted his eyes once again.

"Say it again.  I want you to believe it."

"It wasn't my fault," he said, louder this time, surprised
that just that small act made him feel infinitely better.

"Good.  And I want you to keep that in mind, always," she
said with an encouraging smile.

"Thanks, Nat," he said softly.  "Thanks for understanding."

"Well next time you think something is your fault, you
should try that.  It might save you some emotional pain in
the future.  Now let's talk, that is what you wanted to do,
right?"

He smiled at that.  "Yes.  I want to start my life here
again, I really do.  But if that's not possible, there's no
way I can safely stay in Toronto.  I want you to realize
that straight out..." he looked at her, searching her face
for a reaction.

"I know that, Nick.  Let's jump that hurdle when we get to
it though, alright?" she said hopefully as she looked into
his wonderful blue eyes.  She still found it amazing how
beautiful they were, despite the ages of pain that they
almost always reflected.

"Nat, I need to know..." he paused, biting back on the surge
of emotions that was coursing through him.  "I need to know
what happened after I left," he said, the last two words
nearly coming out in a growl of anger.  /Damn LaCroix for
this!/ he thought harshly as he felt his hunger slowly
start to push it's way to the surface.  /NOT NOW!/  He
shoved it back into the pit of his stomach, ignoring the
stern protest his body was giving him.

Natalie looked at him, and waited for him to end his private
battle.  "Nick, are you hungry?  There's still one more pack
of blood if you need it..." she said, concerned.

Nick shook his head.  He would NOT give in.  Not now.  "No,
I'm alright for now.  Please, answer my question."

"Ok... If you're sure..." Natalie said, slightly curious at
his strange behavior.  He was obviously hungry... "Well,
Schanke went out on a crusade trying to find you, but after
about two months, even he gave up and they put the case in
with the unsolveds where it has remained ever since.  He
misses you, you know.  Every once in awhile he digs his
files out and reads them, as if he expects to find something
he missed earlier," she said and Nick urged her to continue.

"Schanke has worked solo since then, you know... he's... OH!
Nick!  I'm supposed to go have dinner at his house in," she
paused as she looked at her watch, "an hour!"

Nick smiled at her sudden outburst.  "Well why don't you go
get dressed while I try and figure out what to do about
reentering my life."

"You're sure?  I could call him and pretend to be sick..."

"Nat, go and have fun.  We can finish this later, I have
enough information to digest for awhile," he said, trying to
reassure her.  The mention of Schanke had brought up even
more painful memories.  Despite Schanke's annoying
tendencies, Nick really did miss him.  He was probably one
of the only mortals he had run across in his many travels
that he actually liked and felt he could confide in, with
the exception of Nat.

She nodded reluctantly and went into the bedroom to get
ready.  This was the first time in a long time that she
actually wasn't looking forward to spending the evening with
Schanke.  She actually felt kind of guilty.

Nick looked on as she left the room.  Suddenly he was very
weary.  He thought it was hard enough moving to a new life.
Now he had to figure out how to reinsert himself.  Great.

A pang of hunger snapped himself out of his thoughts.
Shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut, he denied it
once more and sank heavily into the couch he was sitting on.
He raised his hands above his face and stared in disgust.
His wrists and arms were bony, as was the rest of him.  That
was the primary cause for his hunger.  He had been without
proper nourishment for a year and his body had shown the
signs rather obviously.

But every time he thought about how hungry he was, he could
only remember LaCroix voice, urging him to drink.  It
frightened him very much.  For some reason, he felt that
giving in and drinking would be like letting his master win.
And he couldn't let that happen, not even if LaCroix was
dead.

He yawned briefly as he placed his hands back at his side.
A short while later, he had drifted off into sleep.

*****

Nat carefully set her hair and finished getting ready. She
slipped herself out of the lilac-colored sweats she had put
on earlier and into a nicer but still casual knee-length
baby-blue skirt and matching blouse.  Smiling as she looked
in the mirror, she couldn't quite get over the fact that
Nick was really there, and in her living room at that.  She
couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy.

There was so much they hadn't said before she left, so much
they hadn't done.  Nick had never said it, but she knew he
loved her.  Natalie sighed, thinking about how much they
needed to discuss.  They had had some serious talks since he
had literally fallen into her apartment, but there was still
so much they needed to cover.

They would have to deal with those issues as they came about,
however.  Despite her overwhelming need to resolve such
things what she wanted to do was to take him in her arms and
hold him forever.

But Nick was still emotionally unstable at this point,
though he tried to hide it.  Well who wouldn't be after an
ordeal like that, it was a wonder he hadn't gone mad already.

Then there was the question of reentering the police force.
She honestly didn't know how he was going to pull that off.
Whatever he said would end up being very implausible or
impossible to prove or both.  Nick would figure out a way
though.  At least... she hoped he would.

If he couldn't... well then she would deal with that when
the time came.  And now there was Schanke to deal with.  How
she was going to get through tonight without letting
anything slip was going to be interesting.  She was so giddy
that she doubted she could contain herself even if she
wasn't asked.  But she would have to.

Natalie glanced at her appearance again in the mirror.
Satisfied with the results, she went into the living room to
grab her purse.  She laughed when she saw that Nick had
fallen asleep on the couch, despite the uncomfortable
position he was in.  He was sitting up straight with his
neck bent backward over the back of the sofa as if it had
just fallen that way.

With a snicker, Natalie realized that was probably precisely
what had happened.  She approached him and with a careful
once over, determined that he was completely dead to the
world and wouldn't mind any disturbances.  Shifting herself
so that she was in front him, she took hold of his sides,
noticing with some sadness the small bulges where his skin
was barely stretched around his ribcage.  She pulled him
forward slightly and laid him down on the couch.  She
grabbed his legs and pulled them up onto the couch as well,
so that he was completely in the horizontal position.

Nick didn't stir once during all this movement, and she
couldn't help but giggle at his utter dead-to-the-worldness.
Satisfied that he would be comfortable that way, she smiled
and left, grabbing her coat and purse on the way out the
door.

**This is the end of Part 7/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

*****

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (4/9)

Natalie felt the grief and emotional pain of the past year
melt away into oblivion as if it had never existed.  In that
instant, that one joyous moment where everything seems right
in the world, she realized that didn't care how, she didn't
care why, but he was back.  The smile that spread across her
lips was liberating, and it felt damn good.  "Hi, yourself.
How do you feel?"

Nick looked at her silently for a few moments and she
wondered what he was thinking behind that expressive gaze.
She noticed with growing alarm that his breathing had
started to come in ragged gasps.  His face grew steadily
more troubled as the sweet sanctuary of unconsciousness that
had masked the pain slowly melted away.  "I hurt," he said
simply, before a wave of pain cut him off.

She placed a hand gently on his face in an attempt to
comfort him.  "Nick, you've got to breathe evenly, it'll
hurt less."

His response to her touch was frightening, yet not
surprising.  The growl that her soft fingers elicited
caused her to immediately withdraw them.  She got a good
view of his fangs before he was able to calm himself, but as
usual, she was not afraid of his vampiric visage, she was
merely concerned for him.  "Nick, I'm sorry.  I shouldn't
have done that."

Nick shook his head.  "No!  It's alright, that was my
fault... I'm... I'm okay now."  He was lying through his
teeth and both of them knew it.  His discomfort with her
close proximity was obvious and she saw him fiercely clamp
his mouth shut to suppress another growl.

"Nick, shhhh," she said softly, placing her index finger to
her lips for emphasis.  "I know you're hungry.  Let's get
you on the bed, and then I'll run to the morgue and swipe a
few expired blood packs."  /To Hell with how it will look,
this is more important./

He nodded, miserably.  The man was in a lot more pain than
he was letting on, that much she knew, if not from the
stake wound, from the hunger.  She'd seen the effects of
starvation on him, and his current situation was much more
dire than anything she'd ever witnessed.

She needed to get him some blood.  Now.  Worriedly, she
watched as he made an unsuccessful attempt to get up.  He
panted from the exertion, but flopped back down to the floor
with a grimace of pain before he could even get 45 degrees
his torso off the floor.  She couldn't just leave him on the
floor like this, and at this rate he'd be lying there for a
century.

"Can you handle it if I help you up?" she asked, cautiously.
She did NOT want to push him beyond his limits.  That
presented a certain fatal element for her, and he would most
likely never forgive himself if he was still as angsty as he
had been a year ago.

Nick closed his eyes tightly and nodded an affirmative.
He made another weak attempt to sit up.  She shot her hands
under his back and held him up when his torso refused to
elevate itself any higher.  He let out a cry of pain, and
she was about to withdraw her hands, but he nodded for her
to continue.  She responded quickly, pushing him the rest of
the way to the upright position.

Once he was sitting up, it was a little bit easier, and
she managed to get him standing all the way up.  His eyes
had become glassy, and she worriedly noticed that he was
leaning most of his weight on her.  She brought him closer
to her, and he groaned as he collapsed into her arms.
Rubbing his back, she softly reassured him as his head fell
to the side of hers.  With his face resting on her shoulder,
his hands clutching her hips as if he expected her to
disappear at any moment, and her arms wrapped around his
waist, she almost felt like she was participating in a
slightly more than platonic embrace.

It felt so very good to be in his arms again.  She felt him
trembling as they stood, his body beginning to shake like a
leaf, and she longed to hold him and to comfort him as he
had never allowed before.  She wished that she could tell
him that nothing would ever hurt him again, but a small part
groan part growl erupted from his lips and the mood was lost.
Shaking herself from her own selfish thoughts, she began
pivoting so that Nick was in an angle to lay back on the bed.

After a few minutes of shifting around, Nick was finally on
the bed.  Tears of blood were streaming down his face from
the effort it took on his part, and Natalie noticed as he
lay back gasping, that her own white blouse had red stains
on the shoulder where his face had been.  "Thank... thank
you," he said through closed eyes.  "I'm s... sorry about
your shirt..."

Natalie shushed him with a flit of her hand and she brushed
the tears from his face with a tissue that she had grabbed
from her nightstand.  "Don't worry about that, I can buy a
new one later, you're more important," she hastily reassured
him.  Covering him with the soft blankets, she leaned as
close to him as she dared.  "I'll be back really soon.  Just
hang in there," she said with a slight crack in her voice.

With that, she left his side.  Almost as an afterthought,
she closed the blinds, shuddering when she realized how
close she had come to forgetting that little detail, and
left.  If she could get to the morgue before the dayshift,
it would be easier to avoid notice.

*****

Nick laid there, staring at the ceiling.  He couldn't
believe that he was really here.  Gasping, he winced when he
felt another wave of pain surge through him.  Despite his
weakness and his injury, he felt like everything was going
to be okay.  He almost laughed when he realized how deluded
he had become.

When he had woken up to Nat's lovely heartbeat, it had felt
more wonderful than anything he'd ever experienced in his
life.  The euphoria he had felt when he had seen her face
had topped even that.  It was selfish to have come back
though, he could only do her harm.  He knew it and she knew
it, despite her protests to the contrary.  He sank deeper
into the warm blankets, as if they could warm his cold
heart.  The pain in his chest and abdomen was growing, and
he hoped that Nat would return soon with the blood.

/What am I DOING here anyway?/  He didn't know.  He'd been
gone for a year.  Natalie was probably mad as Hell that he
hadn't said anything, even though there was no way that he
could have.  True, she had looked quite overjoyed when he
had woken up and said hi, but he was certain that would wear
off after this little situation was cleared up and he was
healed.

And his job.  What was he going to do about that?  He
would need a damn good explanation for his disappearance.
Schanke probably thought he was dead.  Nick doubted that he
would even get a chance to continue working with him again.

Why had he come back, anyway?  There was nothing left for
him here.  Except her.  He knew that Natalie was his entire
reason for living through LaCroix's torture.  Despite the
number of times he tried to deny it, both to himself and to
her, he knew that he loved her more than his own life.

Another wave of pain wracked his body, and he shook as he
tried to contain a growl.  It was getting worse.  Much worse.
He took in a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut,
longing for the taste of blood on his tongue.  The blood
would take away the terrible pain in his chest and in his
gut.  But at the same time, he felt guilty that he wanted
it so much.  He had tried so hard not to drink it.

/Give in to your nature.../  LaCroix's voice echoed through
his mind, waging war with his inner moral standards.  He
shook his head, he would NOT let LaCroix win now.  Not after
all he had gone through.  No, he would take only what he
needed and he would NOT indulge himself.  He wouldn't give
LaCroix the satisfaction, even in death.  If he was dead...

He'd thought LaCroix to be dead once before, after that mess
with Alyce Hunter.  But a year later, his master and
tormentor had returned once again.  Nick still hated himself
for making the choice to return as a vampire that fateful
night.  It seemed that fate simply determined that he was to
deal with himself and with LaCroix for all time.  At least
he had saved Fleur...

Nick shuddered, the war within him between the human and
the vampire had pushed the waves of hunger and pain beyond
his acceptable limits.  He gripped the covers tightly,
trying to ride through the uncomfortable sensations he was
getting.  But he couldn't, and he graciously accepted the
darkness over the light.  Had he been awake, he would have
thought it very ironic.

*****

Natalie raced into the Coroners' Building as fast as her
legs could carry her, but as soon as she had gotten inside
the door, she slowed.  It would do no good to draw attention
to herself.  She slipped through the hallways, thanking
God that there was no one there to intercept her.

Her coworkers had been worried enough about her sanity when
she had buried herself in her work after Nick had left.
They would most certainly think her crazy if she ran in here
like a crazed lunatic, especially since it was her day off.

She arrived at the elevator only too soon, and pushed the
button while quickly glancing to her left and to her right.
Still not a soul to be seen.  "C'mon, C'mon!"  Natalie
watched the light above the elevator door impatiently, and
was about ready to just take the stairs when she finally
heard the elevator slowly lumber into place.  The bell
dinged and the door opened.  She barreled in, only to run
straight into "Grace!"  Grace must've just gotten off her
shift.

Grace looked up startled and stepped out of the way in time
to avoid being run over.  "Natalie!  What are you doing
here?  You're supposed to be taking a day off," she said
suspiciously.

"Uh, well, I have to pick up some files.  Not to worry,
I'll be out of here and relaxing at home ASAP," Natalie
said, hoping her anxiousness didn't bleed through her
poorly conceived lie.  Thankfully, the elevator doors began
to close.  "Oops, gotta go!"  She leaned back against the
elevator wall, letting out a sigh of relief.

Poor Grace.  /She must think I've gone off the deep end.../
Natalie remembered the vague, confused look Grace had given
her as the doors shut in her face.  Oh well.  No time to
dwell on that now.

As the elevator doors opened, Natalie was off at a run.
Luckily, hers was the only office on the basement floor.
The only people who might see her now were the custodial
staff.  She didn't know them well enough to need to worry
about them.

She quickly opened her door, her shaky hand twisting the key
in the lock.  Racing in, she stayed only long enough to grab
five packs of expired blood from the refrigerator and stuff
them in a small duffel bag she had brought with her.  Almost
as an afterthought, she grabbed some equipment for hooking
up an IV.  Nick had been quite lucid when she'd left, but
she didn't know how long that would last.

No one would think the strangely stuffed bag was odd, at
least she hoped.  She carried enough stuff between her
office and her apartment that she didn't think it would be
a problem. /Well, here's hoping./  She almost laughed.
With her luck there would be some new security guard just
itching to get his feet wet by pulling over a suspiciously
acting coroner...  Natalie shook her head, still not
believing what she was doing, and left at a dead run.

**This is the end of Part 4/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

*****

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (5/9)

Natalie opened the door to her apartment only to be
greeted with a deafening silence, save for Sydney.  He was
meowing defiantly as she entered, but she would have to
worry about that later.  Perhaps Nick had fallen asleep?
"Nick?  Nick, I'm back..." she said as she walked into the
bedroom.

She gasped when she went back into the room.  Nick was
even paler than he had been when she'd left, although she
hadn't thought achieving such a sickly pallor was possible.
Although his breathing was even, it was incredibly shallow,
and she could see the droplets of blood sweat that had begun
to cover his pale skin.

Natalie quickly grabbed the IV equipment out of her bag
and set up the transfusion.  When she took hold of his arm
gently to stick the needle in, its limpness frightened her.
"C'mon, Nick.  Stay with me.  You'll be alright soon."  She
could only hope that she was correct in that assumption.

She anxiously watched the blood flow out of the pack and
into the tube, and after awhile, she could see his painfully
still body begin to respond to the much needed nourishment.
The first two bags of blood were already drained, his body
had absorbed them alarmingly fast.  She sat beside him
watching hopefully for any sign of wakefulness.

After the fourth bag, she felt herself drifting off from
lack of sleep.  However, she was jerked back to the world of
wakefulness by a soft "Hello again."  She smiled when she
saw Nick, awake and watching her.

"Nick!  I was so worried!  How do you feel?" she asked,
somewhat worried that she hadn't brought home enough blood.

"Tired.  Weak.  But I'll live," Nick smiled.  His eyes
looked much more relaxed than they had before, and they were
their normal pale blue.  He raised his hand to her face
and brushed her check gently, as if checking to make sure
his eyes weren't deceiving him and that she really was there.

Natalie felt herself blush and silently hoped that Nick
wouldn't noticed the rosy pigment spreading across her
cheeks.  "I missed you," she stated simply, trying not to
reveal the hurt he had caused her.  She might have tried to
hide it, but it was obvious to her that he saw it clearly.

Nick sat up slowly, it obviously took an effort, and looked
at her directly.  He took her hands in his and stared at her
with a look that did nothing to hide the centuries of pain he
had endured.  His guilt and his hurt almost had a life force
of their own, and she could feel the turmoil that his mind
suffered. He took a slow breath and prepared to speak.

"Nat, I didn't leave by my own choice.  If there had been
any way for me to contact you, I would've.  Just thinking of
you is what has kept me alive long enough to see you.  I'm
sorry I caused you so much pain.  I would give anything to
take it away, but I can't and if you want me to leave I will
go and never look back.  I guess... I guess I just wanted to
see you one last time," Nick said, with a sincerity that Nat
believed instantly.

She choked on her own words.  "I... I don't want you to
leave again..."

Nick smiled at that.  "Then I won't.  I'll stay as long as
you want me."

"Forever, Nick.  I want you forever," Natalie said earnestly,
looking deep into his eyes for a response.

He laughed, coughing slightly.  Despite his look of
'wellness', he was still far from it.  "Nat, that's an
awfully long time."  When he saw her face fall, he rushed to
complete his thought.  He cursed himself that he had paused
too soon.  "But... I've been told I have an eternity."

Natalie looked at him, somewhat annoyed.  "Oh, you!" she
growled as she playfully batted him, careful to avoid his
wound from the stake.  She vaguely wondered if it had
healed yet, but was distracted when she noticed the grim
look that had set into his face.

"Nick?  Where... where did you go when you... when you
left?" Natalie said, hesitantly.  She did not want to upset
him. When she saw his look of horror in response to her
question, she quickly moved to correct her error.  "I'm
sorry.  You don't have to tell me.  You came back, that's
all that matters..." Natalie was rushing through excuses.
She didn't want to lose him now that she'd found him again,
but she was abruptly cut off.

"He took me away... and he starved me," Nick said, softly.
His eyes got a far off look, and she could tell he was
remembering.

FLASHBACK - ONE YEAR PREVIOUS

The pounding beat of the music was already giving him a
headache.  Following the headache was the dizziness that
accompanied the whirling colored lights.  Normally he
wouldn't have minded, but right now, he was just too tired.
He shouldn't have come.  He knew that.

As usual he had used the excuse of needing information for
a case to go to the Raven.  Unusual though, was the fact
that LaCroix was there instead of Janette.  Nick thought it
odd, but was stopped from continuing that train of thought
when LaCroix began to respond to his inquiry.  "Nicholas,
why must you come to me and ask such questions?  Your mortal
games are getting quite annoying if I do say so myself, and
believe me, I do."

Nick merely looked at his master with daggers.  He ran his
hands through his hair, a sign of annoyance that LaCroix was
sure to recognize even though he usually chose to ignore it.
Sighing, he still couldn't believe that he had come here. He
felt strangely drawn to the mysterious atmosphere and the
closeness of his kind despite his general attitude about
staying as far away from the vampire community as possible.

He was really starting to wish that Janette was there instead
of LaCroix, but she had gone out.  And so now he had to deal
with LaCroix, who for some reason was there instead.  Why,
he had no clue.  But he was.  It was funny.  He didn't
realize how much he had preferred Janette's teasing over
LaCroix's ridicule until now...

"LaCroix, just ONCE, do you think you could help me out?
Schanke and I are completely stuck.  If you don't know
anything then say so and I'll leave.  But please, at least
tell me that much."  Nick bit off any further comments that
he felt lurking in his mind.  It would be no good to anger
LaCroix now.

"Ah yes, Schanke.  I remember him.  An intriguing mortal,
most gullible though..." LaCroix said, reminiscing over his
recent encounter with Schanke when he had thought Nick was a
vampire.

"LaCroix...  Please?" Nick interrupted, becoming more
annoyed with every passing moment.

LaCroix relieved himself of his flashback and looked at Nick
with slight amusement.  "Nicholas, why can't you ever learn?
I won't help you with your silly information hunt.  You're
the detective.  If you can't even solve a simple murder case,
perhaps you should change professions.  Aristotle would be
more than happy to set up an appointment with you."

"Damnit, LaCroix..." Nick growled, his temper getting the
better of him.  He shouldn't have come here.  But he had,
and now he was stuck.

"Nicholas, I'll not have you losing your temper at me."
LaCroix said the words calmly, with not a hint of malice.
He meant them only as a warning.

Nick did not take the time to wonder how on earth LaCroix
managed to sound so menacing even when he was speaking
nicely.  He merely narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice
to nearly imperceptible levels.  "LaCroix, I like my life
the way it is.  I enjoy my job, despite your constant
ridicule.  Don't push me."

LaCroix raised his eyebrows slightly, but otherwise his face
betrayed no emotion.  "Is that a threat Nicholas?  I don't
take kindly to threats.  Even if they _are_ from you..."

Nick couldn't believe what he was saying.  Did he want to
die tonight?  Yet he couldn't stop the words before they
came out of his mouth, "Yes, LaCroix.  That is a threat.
Stay away from my life."  He wasn't sure if his eyes
betrayed his surprise.  How could he have said that?

LaCroix slapped him across the face, taking no notice of the
curious stares coming from the Raven's patrons.  "And here I
thought it was _you_ who came to me..." LaCroix's voice was
full of rage.  Nick could see he was seething with it and he
was afraid.  LaCroix's temper was seldom provoked, but it
was generally very bad when it was.

LaCroix grabbed Nick by the coat and yanked him into a side
room.  Surprised by the sudden action, Nick didn't have time
to react when LaCroix threw him to the floor.  The crack
that followed as his head hit the hardwood baseboards was
enough to make most people cringe.

Nick felt a shock of pain as he hit the floor.  He blinked
furiously, trying to keep the involuntary tears from flowing
as he attempted to shake the sudden wooziness from his brain.
His head must've hit harder than even he had thought.

He didn't have enough time to concentrate on even that as he
heard LaCroix speaking over the roar in his ears. "You will
NEVER, EVER, tell me what I can and cannot do.  I've
tolerated this insubordinance long enough."  Nick gasped as
he felt LaCroix's foot connect with his stomach.  Hard.

Nick wanted to retaliate, but everything was moving in slow
motion.  He couldn't think straight and he couldn't get his
limbs to cooperate with him.  That hit to his head had done
a lot of damage.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it..." he
attempted to say.  Although he really truly did mean it,
even if he normally wouldn't have been daring enough to say
it.  However, it came out more like a concatenation of
completely unrelated syllables.  His tongue felt thick in
his mouth and he couldn't get it to behave.

He wanted desperately to stop the waves of nausea and pain
that threatened to overtake him as LaCroix continued to beat
him.  As he began to lose consciousness, he could vaguely
hear LaCroix speaking again, "Perhaps more extreme methods
will ensure your continued cooperation..."  But he heard
nothing after that except the roar of the blood through his
ears and the loud cracks as LaCroix hit him.  Thankfully, he
had gone numb well before he lost consciousness.

THE PRESENT

"Oh Nick..." Natalie wanted to say something sympathetic.
But words failed her.  Granted Nick had provoked LaCroix,
but that small outburst of self-identity had not deserved a
year of confinement and starvation.

Nick looked at her, blood tears streaming down his face.
The look of pain in his eyes made her want to cry.  How did
he live with it?  If this was any indication, this was not
the first time LaCroix had resorted to such methods of
control.

"Nat... Nat, it's alright.  I'm ok now.  Please don't cry,"
he said softly as he blinked away his own tears. Here he
was, recovering from a near fatal discipline session from
LaCroix and he was worried about her.  She couldn't believe
it.

She smiled.  "Nick... I'm just... I'm glad that you're back.
You'll never know how glad, I was devastated without you,"
Natalie said, her own blunt honesty surprising even herself.

"I'm glad that I'm back too..." he said, a certain longing
overcoming the soft tones he was using to speak with. Nick
looked like he was about to enter another angst session as
it was, so Natalie quickly moved to save the situation.

"Nick, don't worry about it.  It wasn't your fault.  You
came back as soon as you could.  What matters is that you're
here now."  Natalie got the response she wanted when she saw
him reluctantly smile.  "Now, though," she accentuated her
pause with a kiss to his cheek, "you need to recuperate."

"But Nat..."

Natalie placed a hand over his mouth before he could
continue. "Not with me more than twenty four hours and
you're already being stubborn.  Now be quiet and go to sleep.
You need it."

He smiled briefly and hesitantly closed his eyes.  Within
minutes he was breathing evenly and a peaceful look had
encompassed his face.  Nat smiled and got up to leave.  She
knew that this was just the beginning.  The emotional trauma
they could deal with eventually.  She hoped.  The problem
was that she had no idea how.

**This is the end of Part 5/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

*****

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (6/9)

"Nicholas... stop tormenting yourself.  Drink..."  Nick
resisted as the human blood flowed over his tongue.  He
wouldn't drink it.  He couldn't.

Hands wrenched his neck around at an impossible angle.  It
was there.  The blood...  So accessible.  All he needed was
a small sip and maybe he could escape...  The hunger finally
was too much and he swallowed.  Once.  Twice.  Again.  It
tasted soooo wonderful.  "That's it, Nicholas.  Embrace your
nature."

Those words chilled him to the bone.  He spit the blood out
of his mouth and curled his lips up in disgust.  "Never."

The hands were at his mouth again, forcing his jaws open.
The warm blood was poured into his mouth and he jerked
backwards, only to be restrained by the same strong hands.
He had to get away.  How could he get away?  He struggled
with all his might, but the hands just held him more
forcefully in his place.

"You will drink Nicholas... DRINK!"

Nick snapped his eyes open in terror, breathing heavily.
His fear was slowly replaced by relief as he realized that
he was at Natalie's apartment and not that terrible, dark
cellar which had been his home for a year...  He sighed in
obvious relief and sank back into the pillow.

"Nick?  Are you alright?  I heard you yelling..."  Natalie
came racing into the room as if on cue.

Nick, still slightly shaken, sat up fully.  "No, it's ok
Nat.  It was just a nightmare, you get used to them after
800 years..." he tried to sound nonchalant, but his voice
trailed off when he saw her look of concern.

"Nick..."  Natalie stopped short as she gave him a once
over.  He was covered with blood sweat and his hands were
visibly shaking.  Whatever he had had was definitely more
than just a nightmare....  But she wouldn't push it.  He
would talk to her when he was ready.  She ignored the small
voice in her head saying that Nick had never confided with
her before...

Obviously, a quick change of subject was needed, because it
was clear to her that Nick was getting more and more
uncomfortable with her extended silence.  "Well, um, Nick,
why don't you let me make sure your wound is closed and then
you can take a shower."

He smiled.  "Am I to take that as an ever subtle hint?"

Nat smiled back, knowing he was trying to lighten the air
between them.  "Well... no offense, but..." she said with
a teasing tone as he gave her an indignant look.  Bending
over she placed her hands over the bandage and gently
removed it.  Not surprisingly, the wound was completely
healed.

"So, do I pass?" Nick looked at her with a childish
hopefulness.

"Yup.  Although, someday, you're gonna have to tell me how
you manage to get yourself into such messes...  Seriously.
I think you have proven that cats aren't the only creatures
with more than one life..." Natalie gave him a pat on the
shoulder as he stood up and headed for the bathroom.

"Uh, yeah." Nick tried to eliminate the harsh, tortured tone
from his voice as images of his imprisonment flashed before
his eyes.  Natalie had been joking, he knew, but for some
reason he felt that odd, tight feeling in his chest.  He
knew he would break down right there if he couldn't get away.

Natalie looked at Nick with concern as she saw him blink
back tears.  How could she have been so stupid as to remind
him of his recent predicament?  She mentally slapped herself
as she changed the subject again, almost smiling when she
realized how good she was getting at that.

"Well, the fresh towels are where they've always been.  And
some of your clothes are still in the bottom drawer of my
dresser, so take your pick," she said as she pointed to the
location of his clothes.

"You still have some of my clothes?" he said, surprised. His
earlier distress was forgotten when he heard her say that.
Granted, he had stayed over a lot a year ago, he wouldn't
have thought she would've saved his spare clothes...

Natalie felt slightly embarrassed at his utter amazement.
"Well, yeah.  I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them,"
she said quietly as she looked at the floor.  He was silent
and she felt his arms wrap around her shoulders.

Nick was amazed.  He had never seen someone who cared that
much about him.  "Thanks, Nat.  Thanks for everything."  He
lightly kissed her ear.

She turned, laughing, and lightly batted his shoulder.
"That tickles!  Now go take a shower!"

Nick looked at her with a feigned look of dejection.  "Oh,
alright.  I can take a hint," he said as he went and got a
pair of jeans and a T-shirt out of her drawer.  Natalie
merely smiled and went back out into the living room.

*****

Nick let the warm spray of the shower relax him.  He tried
not to pay attention to the red tinted water that was
flowing down the drain, a small reminder of his nature.
Softly, he placed a hand on the cool tiles of the wall,
leaning on it slightly.  He was still very tired, despite
the fact that the physical evidence of his injuries was
completely gone.

Shaking his head, he sighed.  Nick knew he had to either
rebuild his life here or move on.  He couldn't stay here
indefinitely, no matter how appealing the option did in
fact seem.

He knew that he would die if he had to leave Natalie.  The
pain at having to leave her a second time would tear him
apart.  Just these past few hours had rekindled his dormant
feelings for her.

With a firm determination, he made up his mind.  No matter
what, no matter how, he would stay here.  He had no idea how
he would convince the police department why he had left for a
whole year.  But he would think of something.

Nick finished his shower quickly, dried himself off, and
dressed.  He had to talk with Nat about this now.  Before
they let their relationship go any further than it had
previously been.  At least LaCroix wasn't around to stop
him now, he thought, recalling the painful events of his
last Valentine's Day with Nat.

**This is the end of Part 6/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

*****

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (3/9)

Natalie started when she had heard the sound.  She had been
reading one of her medical newsletters trying to take her
mind off things when she had heard a hollow thud outside the
door.  Nervously, she shooed Sydney away and waited.

A brief silence ensued and Natalie almost assumed that she
had been hearing things.  The rough, distinct sound of
something hitting against the door that replaced the blessed
silence immediately told her otherwise.  Whatever it was
paused for a second, as if wondering what to do, and then
slowly slid down the other side of the door.  Then it was
gone.  She was greeted with silence once again.

Almost panicky, Natalie began to have visions of some crazy
wacko sizing up her door.  True, it could have been any
number of things, but she doubted any of the 'number of
things' would happen at four in the morning.  Unless of
course her landlady had become a vampire and this was the
only time that she could collect rent now...  Despite the
tense situation she gave a little 'humphf' at her poorly
constructed joke.

Natalie got up from the chair and went to the door,
hesitantly looking out the peephole.  An empty hallway of
gray carpeting and shell-white walls stared back at her.  No
one was there.  After waiting for a good ten minutes as a
precaution, she opened the door with a sudden sureness that
was only proven ungenuine by the look in her eyes.  She
gasped and jumped backward several feet as a body fell into
her apartment, the door no longer supporting it.

/Nick!/  His tattered black silk shirt, frayed jeans, and
sickly appearance did nothing to disguise him, she
recognized him immediately.  Her breathing came in short
gasps as the shock of it all threatened to make her faint.
Her knees felt weak, and she stepped over so she could use
the doorframe for support as her legs turned to Jell-O and
nearly gave out.  Blood rushed through her ears and she
could feel her heart rate double.  The pounding in her chest
only served to prove that she was not exaggerating.
/Ohmygod!  What do I do?!/  She wanted to scream, but she
somehow restrained herself, clasping her hands over her
mouth as if her life depended on it.

She kept her hands at her mouth as she began to shake
uncontrollably and then let them fall to her sides to grip
the doorframe behind her.  Her chest heaved as waves of
shock flooded through her.  Not knowing what to do, she
simply stared at Nick as he lay there, silent and unmoving.
She knew that she needed to calm down, and that breathing
normally would probably be beneficial to her at the moment.
But she was confused.  Hell, she was shocked out of her
right mind!

Suddenly, the suppressed emotions of the past year came to
the surface of her shocked mind like a riptide.  /What the
Hell?!  He left me and now he just randomly shows up a year
later?/  Her face turned red as she fought the urge to kick
his crumpled form.  The anger coursed through her briefly
until she was finally able to rationalize with herself that
she hadn't heard his side of it and that judgement was to be
reserved for a later date.  /He's hurt, for crying out loud!
Do something, you idiot!/

The immediate shock of the moment finally passed and with
shaky hands she gained some composure.  Taking the
initiative, she grabbed hold of his arms and pulled him
inside as gently as she could manage.  She brought his arms
back to his sides, taking care to avoid hurting him.
Hopping over him, she reached out and shut the door with a
loud slam.  If his arrival hadn't woken the neighbors, that
certainly would have.  She shrugged and sat down beside him.

He was now splayed on the floor, chest down, with his head
turned to the side.  She reached out to touch his as she
softly whispered his name, but at the last minute she pulled
back.  What if this wasn't real?   She couldn't take that...
Reaching out again, she placed a hand on his shoulder,
originally intending to give him a shake in hopes that he'd
wake up.  Her hand, however, had other plans, and it slowly
migrated up to his face and then to his flaxen locks.

Even as she ran her hands through his soft, blond hair, she
could barely believe that he was real.  But he was, he was
lying right there in her apartment.  /He's really come back
to me.../  She touched a hand to his white face and drew it
back in shock.  He was freezing, even for a vampire.  And he
was hurt.  The blood stain that covered his shirt was _not_
a small one by any measurement.  Shaking her head at her
stupidity, she immediately went into 'doctor-mode'.

With some effort, Natalie gently rolled Nick's prone form
onto his back.  He didn't so much as stir.  Even looking at
him in the flesh, she still couldn't believe he was actually
here.  Momentarily distracted by her thoughts, she suddenly
became engrossed with his face.  His pale complexion was
even paler than normal, and his features gaunt.  Sighing,
she remembered how beautiful he used to look when he slept,
like a sleeping angel, but now...  /He's not sleeping!  Get
with it!/

Frowning, she removed his shirt and gasped.  There was a
hideous, gaping wound on his chest not far from his heart.
She recognized the wound without a second thought, she'd
seen it before.  /My God, he's been staked.../  She jumped
up and ran to the bathroom.

Luckily, she still had all her supplies in medicine cabinet.
When Nick had left, she hadn't bothered to take them out.
She thought it funny that her emotional stubbornness over
admitting that Nick was gone had finally turned out to be a
good thing.  Grabbing some gauze, alcohol, and other
necessary items, she raced back to his silent form.

Natalie examined the wound carefully, not encouraged by the
small groan her simple probing had elicited.  Thankfully,
there were no splinters and the wound looked reasonably
clean, all things considered.  She shakily cleaned out his
wound and bandaged it securely, hoping against all hope that
it wasn't too late.  Glancing at her watch, she noticed
worriedly that he'd been silent for quite awhile.  He was so
still that he appeared to be dead, or at least very close to
it.  But... He couldn't be dead, since he hadn't turned to
ash.  At least she hoped that was true.

Nick hadn't exactly been forthcoming with any information
about vampire physiology that he had thought wasn't
necessary for her to have and make a cure with.  Come to
think of it, he hadn't even been forthcoming about the
necessary stuff either.  But Richard... Natalie let out a
small sob just thinking of his name.  Richard had turned to
ash when he had died, so it seemed logical to assume that it
was a normal occurrence.

After she finished with the chest wound, she examined the
rest of him.  Nick seemed to have no other injuries, but
there were signs that he hadn't been treated very well
wherever he had been.  His hair was shoulder length and
slightly matted from lack of care, but that was the least
of his problems.  She bit back a sob when she took note of
how painfully thin he was.  His alabaster white skin had the
thickness of paper, and his ribs were quite visible.  Their
prominent ripples gave his torso a skeletal appearance and
she noticed with a grim sense of reality that his limbs were
not in any better shape.  He looked so fragile, so
harmless...

Natalie sighed and grabbed him as she had before to get him
out of the doorway.  After about ten minutes she had managed
to drag him as far as the bedroom door before she had to
rest, huffing and puffing at the exertion.  Even as thin as
he was, Nick was still much larger than her.  After another
ten minute battle with gravity and friction, she managed to
get him next to her bed.  /Great, Lambert.  Now how do you
think you're going to get him on the bed?  You can barely
drag him twenty feet./

She decided to put off the inevitable by taking time out to
change the sheets and put fresh blankets on the bed.
When that was done, she went back to the problem at hand,
trying to determine how she was going to lift him.
Normally she would've just heaved with all her might, but
his chest wound meant that that was out of the question.
She'd probably done more than enough damage just dragging
him through her apartment.  She wouldn't be surprised carpet
burns killed him instead of the stake.  No, she was NOT
going to lift him.

And then there was the question of food.  She sat down
heavily on a nearby chair to ponder that one...  He needed
blood very badly, there was no doubt about that, but she
had nowhere to get it.  The vampire community had
shunned her and it would look strange if she went in to the
office just to grab a few expired packs of O-negative...

"Nat..."

She froze at the sound.  It was quiet, barely recognizable
as speech.  Nick's voice was something she hadn't heard in a
long, long time, but she remembered it as clearly as her
most sacred memories.  The weak, hoarse voice that she heard
emanating from him now was a fanfare of pain, suffering, and
longing.  Never before had she heard such a hopeless sound.
Not even from him.

"Nat..."  The single syllable wavering on his tongue, he
uttered her name once again, this time with more desperation
as his eyes searched blindly for her.

"Nick!  It's alright, I'm here," she said, almost crying.
Finally regaining her senses, she raced to his side to show
him that she was indeed there.  Natalie noted with dismay
that the clear blue of his eyes that she admired so much had
been completely erased by the glittering, hypnotic gold of
the vampire.

His head turned to look at her.  Despite his obvious pain
his eyes softened instantly as they found her.  "Hi."

**This is the end of Part 3/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (2/9)

He flew as fast as he could, straining hard to get a little
bit more speed, which wasn't much to begin with.  The
exhaustion tearing at him was beginning to win, but he
wouldn't, he couldn't let it.  It wasn't much farther to her
apartment.  He _needed_ to get there.

A sharp pain in his chest where the stake had been forced
him to land.  He sat down against the brick wall of a dark
alley and clenched his teeth.  Holding his knees to his
chest as if it would hold him together, he counted to ten
slowly and tried to breathe.  The agony of it all would've
killed a mortal man.

He felt his fangs descend and clenched his mouth shut,
desperately trying to deny the inevitable appearance of the
vampire.  Looking down at his chest through glowing, amber
eyes, he noted that the jagged wound that had been there
wasn't nearly as pronounced as before.  However, it was
still quite serious and it still felt like someone had
stabbed him with the sun.  Although the bleeding had stopped,
the pain in his chest and the burning sensation within his
gut had not once let up in their intensity.  He was hungry
and he hurt.  A lot.

He tried to focus, but trying to think through the pain was
like trying to put a dent in an iron wall with a toothpick.
He wasn't quite sure who this 'her' was, nor did he
know why he needed to get to her apartment, he just knew
that he did.  Strangely... he could almost grasp the woman's
name only to lose it again in the morass of mass confusion
that presently made up his mind.  But his instincts were
just screaming at him to go to her.  And now was not the
time to stop and question his instincts.  If he got there,
he knew that he would be helped, that the pain would stop.
But not before then.

He heard a rustling noise as a homeless person walked by the
mouth of the alley.  With his vampire senses, the scrape of
the man's shoes against the pavement resonated through his
acute eardrums like thunder.  The sing-song drumming of the
mortal's heart was astoundingly deafening and he couldn't
drown it out despite his best efforts.  Yet somehow, he knew
that this was not his food.  He knew that he couldn't and
that he wouldn't take the man's life, no matter how enticing.

Snarling briefly, showing a hint of his razor-sharp canines
to the observing dark alley, he slowly got to his feet while
at the same time trying to ignore the pain that it caused.
He had gotten this far, he would make it the rest of the way.
And then he would be ok.  He would be at the safe place, the
apartment.

Leaning back against the wall taking shallow, labored
breaths, he battled the waves of dizziness that struck him
like no physical object ever could.  If he could just get to
his destination...  When he tried to stand up completely and
stop leaning on the wall, he realized what a terrible
predicament he was in.  The sun was due to rise in a few
short hours, and he could barely stand up stay upright on
his own.

The hunger was growing steadily, and he feared that he would
soon be too weak to even attempt movement.  Almost
subconsciously, he thought how strange it was that fate
turns things in your favor only to whip right around and
turn the tables again.  If he had had the breath for it, he
would've laughed.  The worst had already occurred...

FLASHBACK - EARLIER THAT DAY

He was weak and he couldn't get up, the chains prevented
that.  And the hunger...  He had been without nourishment
for so long that he had fallen into that lethargic, half-
awake, half-asleep state that he was in now.  The worst part,
however, was the place of his captivity itself.  The small,
dark cellar that he was being kept in was barely adequate,
but it served the purpose of keeping out the sun's deadly
rays as it had for the past year.

When he heard a soft rumbling in his ear, he wondered if
perhaps it was God's angels, finally come to take his soul
to death's gate for judgment.  It wasn't.  Someone was
saying something, and words slowly began to assemble in his
brain.  The voice slowly resonated through his head and took
a strangely soothing shape, yet he realized that the source
of that very same voice was the cause of his current
predicament.

"Come now Nicholas, why can't you accept your nature?  For a
whole year I've kept you, and you've not given in once.  But
then, I'm not one to give up.  It annoys me that you've
resisted for so long, and I DON'T LIKE being annoyed,"
LaCroix said as he stepped over his crumpled protege,
mindfully avoiding the weak attempt to trip him.

Somehow, despite the growing hunger that burned within, Nick
managed to find a voice he didn't know he still had.  "Go to
Hell, LaCroix," he said weakly, his voice cracking from lack
of use.  After a year of near starvation and little movement,
he was surprised he managed to say anything at all.

"Nicholas, Nicholas, we both know that's already the case,"
LaCroix stooped next to Nick with a canteen.  He calmly
opened the lid and wafted it in front of Nick's nose,
pleased at the violent and very vampiric action he received
in return.  Ignoring the resounding echo of the chains as
his son strained against them, LaCroix dipped his finger
into the small mouth of the canteen.  He quickly withdrew
his finger and placed it on Nick's lips, carefully leaving a
few small drops there.

The human blood made Nick shudder as his eyes uncontrollably
turned gold and his fangs descended.  He clenched his teeth
and squeezed his eyes shut, denying his nature as he had in
the past.  LaCroix would have to force feed him if he
expected him to drink it.  It wouldn't surprise Nick if
that's what LaCroix did, since that's what he'd been doing
throughout his imprisonment.  None of the blood he had
consumed during his captivity, which was decidedly very
little, had been drank voluntarily.

His sire had cruelly kept him at near starvation levels in
hopes that he would eventually give in.  But he wouldn't.
He wouldn't let LaCroix win this round, not by a long shot.
In an effort to resist temptation, he shifted his thoughts
elsewhere, to another time, when he had been happy.  Or at
least as happy as his dark life permitted.  His memories of
Nat's smiling face had kept him sane, thankfully.  His
picture of her in his mind had kept him alive.  If he closed
his eyes and thought hard enough, he could remember every
subtle curve of her face and every wild auburn curl of her
hair.  Nat was his savior even when she wasn't there.

"Get away from me, LaCroix..." he struggled to say it
without sounding too desperate.  He knew that with the
presence of the blood, the tones in his voice were more than
indicative of his current physical state of starvation.

"Nicholas, I won't have this.  You will drink!"  LaCroix
grabbed Nick's jaw and forcefully pried it open, not that it
took much effort for the 2000 year old vampire to do so.  He
poured the blood down Nick's throat and clamped his mouth
shut with his fingers.

The blood burned like fire in his mouth, and he so
desperately wanted to drink...  A taste, perhaps.  Just a
taste...  Nick choked and sputtered, but didn't swallow.
LaCroix's vice-like grip wasn't letting up and he didn't
know how much longer he could withstand this delectable
assault on his taste buds.  He stopped struggling in
LaCroix's grip and was silent.

LaCroix assumed that this was submission and slowly released
Nick's jaw, only to have the blood immediately spit back in
his face.  Disgusted, he wiped the sticky red liquid from
his brow.  He was outraged, never had Nick been so defiant
as now.  "You little wretch!" LaCroix's eyes turned blood
red in rage and Nick winced when he saw his sire's very
pronounced fangs descend into place.  He braced himself for
what he knew would be a very violent retaliation.

Nick vaguely saw LaCroix reaching behind his back in the
midst of his hungered haze, but nothing prepared him for the
shocking pain that lanced through his chest.  He let out a
surprised gasp as the wind was knocked out of his lungs from
the force of the blow.  A burning sensation exploded in his
body, starting in his torso and moving outward.  He cried
out in agony only to be silenced by a hand over his mouth
from his sire.

Through his haze of surprise he finally realized that
LaCroix had staked him and he incoherently grasped at the
offending piece of wood in a futile effort to remove it.  He
remembered vaguely wondering why the damn Roman hadn't just
staked him in the heart and ended it then and there.

"You pathetic fool!  You always have to make me do things
the hard way!"  LaCroix bent over Nick and ripped the stake
that he had placed there only moments before out of his
chest, eliciting a loud cry of agony from the injured
vampire.  The pain of being staked was nothing compared to
that of having the stake ripped out.

LaCroix slapped Nick across the check and forcefully grabbed
his son's jaws again, prying them open with little effort.
Once again he poured blood down his throat, only to go
through the same ritual as before.  This time he was smart
enough not to let go of Nick's mouth.

Nick felt dizzy from the waves of pain that had overtaken
his body and he could barely think straight.  His only
remaining thought was that he mustn't swallow.  He moved his
arm to support himself against the onslaught when his hand
struck something rough and wet.  It was the stake that
LaCroix had just pulled from his body.  Reflexively, he
moved to protect himself, swinging upward as powerfully as
he could manage.  The stake buried itself in LaCroix's
chest with a sick thud, and Nick watched silently as his
sire fell gasping to the floor.

Unlike LaCroix, Nick had aimed true, and he saw LaCroix
suddenly go still and silent after several moments of
thrashing about.  That was his last conscious observation as
he slipped to the cold floor and let the darkness take him
into a state of healing.

THE PRESENT

He couldn't remember exactly what had happened after that,
his stupor from the pain had been his main focus.  Nick
didn't know how he had gotten loose from the chains or how
he had even made it this far.  He didn't even know if
LaCroix was really dead, he'd proven exceptionally hard to
kill via a stake in the past and he couldn't remember if
he'd stopped to check or not...  But that didn't matter now.

Another wave of dizziness overwhelmed him and he placed a
hand on the brick wall again to prevent himself from
falling.  The rough, cool brick felt almost like a beacon,
yanking him away from the unconsciousness that was so
insistently threatening him.  Clutching his abdomen with his
other hand, he breathed deeply, somewhat diminishing the
pain.  As the dizziness passed, he released his hand from
the wall again and waited to see if he would be able to stay
standing for any length of time.  His head was still
swimming, and he felt as if that familiar sense of vertigo
would claim him once again.  It didn't.

When he finally decided that it was okay to move further
away from the wall, Nick steadied himself as he took a step
into the alley and took off into the air.  It was a very
conscious effort, and it took most of his strength.  But he
would get to her.  He would let her know that he was
alright, that he hadn't left her.  But... who was her?  A
small voice in his head finally clued him in.  Natalie...
Through the haze of pain, the name shot forth like a ray of
sunlight into a darkened room.  With new resolve, he pressed
himself for even more speed.

Nick flew on through the darkened night and vaguely noticed
that it had begun to rain.  The wet sheets of water
buffeted him, soaking him to the bone.  As the water
drenched his already ruined clothing, the numbing cold began
to set it.  He flew on, now battling the cold as well as
fatigue and pain.  Not much longer now.  His tortured body
shuddered as he drove onward, barely noting the lights of
the city below him.

But finally, he was there.  Right in front of him was her
small apartment building.  Entering via the door of the
roof, he stumbled down the steps and walked through dimly
lighted hallways until he was there, right in front of her
door.  He reached up to knock, but the hunger chose this
precise moment to finally win the raging battle he had waged
with it and he fell against the door with a loud thud.  His
last conscious thought as he slid down to the floor was that
he hoped she still lived there...

**This is the end of Part 2/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

*****

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS

Standard disclaimers apply.  Nick, Nat, and the rest aren't
mine, I've just taken them for a brief spin.  Permission is
granted to archive on fkfanfic.com and the ftp site.  All
others please ask, I'd just like to keep track of it :)
Any similarities to other stories or real life happenings
are purely unintentional/coincidental.

This fanfic contains a bit more violence than I intended,
although it's nothing like your standard action movie with
a body count entering the four digit region.  It is,
however, a little bit bloody, so be warned.

This story is intended as an alternate beginning to the
third season.  It's kind of my way of keeping Schanke,
despite the fact that that has nothing to do with the actual
story.  Anyway, this is most decidedly a NNPacker piece.  I
hope you like it.

This is the first piece of fanfic that I've ever written, so
I'd appreciate any and all comments - just be gentle :)  Oh,
by the way, this story was posted to FKFIC-L just after Oct
15, which is why it's going under the primus category.

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (1/9)

THE PRESENT

/Why did he leave me?/  Natalie Lambert's hands shook as she
turned the key in the lock.  The door opened to reveal her
obnoxiously orange apartment.  Her empty apartment.  Though
she pretended not to act it in front of her friends, she
knew that she was desperately alone.

"Sydney?" she called out as she flipped the lights on.  An
answering meow came back through the quiet apartment as a
small furry creature padded into the living room area and
proceeded to rub against Natalie's legs.

Natalie absently brushed a stray tear from her face as her
cat's funny antics finally brought a hint of a smile to her
face.  She never seemed to smile anymore....  Glancing over,
she noticed that her answering machine light was blinking
furiously and she absently reached over to press the play
button.  With the slight pressure she applied via her index
finger, the machine clicked and rewound.  Voices immediately
penetrated the loneliness of the room as she sat down in a
nearby chair.

"BEEP! Yeah, this is Schanke.  You're still coming to dinner
tomorrow night right? Myra is cooking up a storm and to be
honest with you... I'm not quite sure if I want to hazard
this stuff without a certified doctor..."

Natalie smiled again, this time a bit wider than before.
Schanke had been wonderful since Nick had left.  Who'd have
thought that the souvlake-fanatic cop lovingly nicknamed
'Donut Don' was a saint in disguise?  With a blink, Natalie
shook herself out of her thoughts and continued to listen.

"... anyway you know how Jenny is.  She always likes dinner
guests, especially you.  So anyway, call me, ok?  And don't
you dare back out again or I'm gonna have to come and take
you away from your office by force."

"BEEP! Hi Natalie, it's Grace.  I just wanted to let you
know that we got the DNA results back for that test you
wanted done.  I left them in the top drawer of your desk
like you told me to.  Listen, we should get together
sometime this weekend.  You need a day off and so do I.
Call me."

Natalie stared at the machine blankly.  So.  That was
basically her life.  She got home, listened to her messages
and fed the cat.  That was about as active as her social
life got.  She had even spent last Christmas alone, the time
you were supposed to spend with friends and family.
Christmas used to be fun and special, especially when she
and Nick got together, but not anymore.  Nick's presence in
her life had been filled only by an empty void, despite the
efforts of her friendly coworkers.  She snorted angrily,
realizing how much of an idiot she had been for building her
whole life around Nick.

She knew that she had to get over him.  She knew it more
than any of the number of people who kept telling her to get
on with her life.  But she couldn't.  That was the simple
truth of the matter.  Natalie had known she loved Nick from
the moment he had gotten up off her autopsy table, but she
hadn't known the extent of her feelings until he was gone.

Everything she saw reminded her of him.  She couldn't escape
it no matter how hard she tried.  Often she would break into
tears at the mere sight of a familiar object and she knew
that her friends were very concerned.  Schanke and Grace had
both played matchmaker above and beyond the call of duty,
despite her stern protests.  In fact, she wouldn't be
surprised if Schanke's invitation to dinner also included
meeting yet another male relative.  /He's probably out of
cousins now... maybe he's moved on to distant friends./
She sighed.

She didn't want another guy.  She wanted Nick.  To this day,
she still didn't know where he had gone, or if he was even
still alive.  He had mentioned once that it was always best
to move on without saying goodbye.  She hadn't thought that
this would've included her.

Natalie brushed a stray auburn curl from her face as she
began to shake.  She didn't want to relive the events of
that night once again, but the memories rushed over her
anyway.

FLASHBACK - ONE YEAR PREVIOUS

"Nick?  Nick, are you here?"  There was no answer.  Natalie
looked worriedly around the loft for any signs of her angsty
blond vampire.  Absently, she noticed the rays of sunlight
penetrating the windows and bathing the loft in light.  It
was a rare occasion that she saw the loft in natural light
like this.  The rays made it look big, airy, and almost
welcoming, which was a far contrast to the stark, 'high tech
dungeon of doom', as Schanke had termed it.

But she didn't dwell on that for long.  She pattered up the
stairs, growing only slightly anxious.  Just because he
wasn't there didn't mean anything.  On her way in she had
noticed that his car wasn't here, so he had very likely
gotten caught somewhere and was spending the day in the
trunk.  He'd done it many times before...

"Nick?" she called softly as she knocked and eased open the
door to his bedroom.  There was no one there, although she
had half expected him to be sleeping in his bed for once,
pale and still like he always slept.

After making a cursory once-over of the room, she went back
downstairs and plopped herself down on Nick's black leather
sofa.  She picked up the phone and quickly dialed Nick's
beeper number.  She waited anxiously, silently cursing
herself for getting so worried.  Nick was a grown man with
800 years of experience, he could take care of himself.
Usually...

Fifteen minutes later, he still had not called, so she tried
directly dialing his cellular.  She grew more apprehensive
as the ringing stopped and an automated voice picked up
telling her that the user was either out of range or had his
phone turned off.

Now, she was getting really worried.  Even if he had been
stuck in the trunk his phone still would've worked...  In a
last ditch effort she dialed Schanke's number and was
greeted with a rather gruff, "Hello?"

"Hi, Schanke?  It's Natalie, have you heard from Nick, by
any chance?"

"Nope, can't say I have.  Last time I saw him he was headed
for the Raven.  I wouldn't worry Nat, you know how he
disappears without a trace."  Schanke sounded fairly
unconcerned.  As Nick's partner, he had grown very used to
Nick going off on his own without telling him anything only
to come back with the criminal bagged and tagged.

"Yeah, Schanke, I guess you're right, thanks."  She hung up
the phone as a lump started to form in her throat.

Nick had gone to the Raven.  To _Janette_.  She didn't know
whether she should be angry, jealous, or nervous.  Nick had
gone to Janette in the past when he needed information or
when something was troubling him.  Hell, it wasn't like he'd
sworn allegiance to her or anything...  But yet, it still
bugged her.  A small part of her recognized it as jealousy,
though she refused to admit it to herself.  Nick had even
told her that he couldn't fall in love, so why was she
getting so bent out of shape?  She guessed that it didn't
matter.  She loved him and there was nothing she could do
about it.  Her jealousy flared again despite her efforts to
contain it.  She snorted and rose from the couch, leaving
hastily as she grabbed her keys off the table.  If he wanted
to go play with Janette, then that was his business.

THE PRESENT

Natalie shifted in her chair.  Nick had never come home.
When she had visited the loft again the next day there were
white drop sheets covering all of the furniture.  The police
had put out an APB on him when he hadn't shown for work that
night, but she knew the truth.  He wasn't coming back.

Nick hadn't even said goodbye.  There was no note, no sign,
no nothing.  And it broke her heart that he had left so
abruptly.  In retrospect, she still didn't see any signs
that he was leaving.  No hints, nothing.  He had just up and
left.

Although it struck her as a little odd, what else was she
supposed to think?  She had gone to the Raven, but she was
unceremoniously kicked out.  Now that Nick was gone, there
had been no reason for the vampire community to accept her
presence.  And so they had acted as if she hadn't existed.
Janette had merely stared blankly at her when the bouncer
had refused her entry into the establishment.

And that was that.  The closing chapter of her 'vampire
years', or so she termed them.  But that didn't mean that it
hurt any less.  She still hoped that some day, he would come
back, or at least send her some acknowledgement that he was
alive and well.  She was willing to accept anything at this
point.

She picked up Sydney and placed him gently on her lap.
Natalie silently hoped that she would have the strength to
continue in her lonely existence.  Little had she realized
how much her world revolved around her errant friend until
it was too late.  True, she was slowly picking up the pieces
of her life that still remained intact, but it still hurt.

Given time, she knew he would become just a memory, a faded
picture on a desk that only she would know the significance
of.  But now... even a year later he was still bright in her
mind, more so than the sun he had never been able to walk in.

She assumed that what hurt most was not knowing.  Not
knowing what had happened, not knowing the details behind
his sudden departure, not knowing the mystery behind it all.
Shivering, she thought that it was probably best that she
didn't know any of that.

What she wanted was a reason.  He had been in Toronto for
less than a decade, hardly enough time for people to realize
that he wasn't aging.  That couldn't have been it, and she
simply refused to consider the chance that he was dead.
That only left the possibility that he had been fleeing from
something.  It could have been another vampire, it could
have been their relationship, but he had retreated in the
worst way.

And not only did it hurt more than any physical pain
imaginable, but it angered her.  Some small part of her
still thought that if there had been some closure, she would
have been able to continue with her life a lot faster than
she was now.  Natalie slammed a fist down into the soft
cushion of the chair and curse herself once again for
allowing herself to fall in love with him.  Somehow, she
would deal with it.  She had to.

**This is the end of Part 1/9. All comments may be sent to
Diane Harris at Dharris@....**

*****

I have finally posted a few guidelines to the Raven Webpage. So if you would
like to know a few things the judges will be looking for in a story, it will
pay to give it a visit sometime!!


Kylie.
knightraven@...
"What a wonderful thing humanity is...Passionate, intelligent, inquisitive,
generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit, and above all...delicious!"
Check out the Raven Awards at my webpage!!
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
Join the Raven Awards for Forever Knight Fiction at
http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards

Forever Knight ~Nevermore~
By Rogue Cousin Tammy

---------'--------,--------<@

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of these characters.  Sony,
Paragon and JP own them all.  I have only borrowed them
and I promise to put them back where I found them.

This is also a crossover... Sort of.  I have borrowed a
certain legend, from The Crow that is owned by Universal
Studios and James O'Barr.  However I didn't use any of
their characters, except for a certain bird.  The song
at the end of the story is from The Crow soundtrack and
belongs to Jane Siberry.  If you are a Crow fan, please
realize I am not an avid fan, and this is crossed over
with the legend from the movie, with no mention of vipers
or other rules for a Crow.

Permission is granted for this to be archived in the
FK FanFic Archive.  Anyone else just drop me a line and
let me know.

This story contains strong language, but I didn't think
enough to drop it under the adult header.  Just as long as
you are forwarned.

It is set late third season, but LK won't happen (not to
say this is a happy story though!).

Thanks to my friend, Lisa (KnightOwl in IRC) for
Beta-ing this for me!

---------'--------,--------<@

Alexander settled lightly against the roof of the Coroner's
Building.  Where was his partner?  They had been sent out
to complete a simple job, bring back De Brabant's childe
and present her to the elder.  They hadn't been able to move
against her until she had done something against the council,
but coming to an interdicted city had been the opportunity
their patron had been looking for.  Now it was just a matter
of picking her up, delivering her to the ancient and letting
him re-exert his will on her.  Simple.

Which was why he had sent Maximillian.  Max, was as one short
lived mortal had put it, "Strong like bull, smart like anvil."
The phrase had stuck in Alexander's head ever since.   As
seemingly simple as this assignment had seemed it was obvious
now that even this was beyond the other enforcer's limited
capacities.  Perhaps if he could remedy the situation the
Elder would approve a change in his working arrangements.
A change that would eliminate Maximillian.

Alexander stood quietly contemplating where to search for his
quarry and his erstwhile compatriot.  He looked out at the
brightly-lit Toronto night with only the song of the city.
A screech from a carrion bird shattered the normal 'calm' of
the city and drew his attention behind him.  A crow sat
watching him from the rail opposite, silent black eyes
assaying the scene.  The vampire snarled menacingly at the
pest, but it didn't move.  He stalked forward, intent on
wringing the thing's neck when a woman's voice came from
behind him.

"Ring around the rosie, pocket's full of posies, ashes,
ashes, we all fall down…" The vampire spun around to see
a woman dressed in black, skipping in time to her chant
slowly in a circle while watching her feet.  Then her head
snapped up and she looked him directly in the eye.  "You
never called after our first date...  I mean you sweep me
off my feet, steal me from my vampire lover, only for a
quick bite and drain."  Natalie shook her head in disgust
as she advanced on the Enforcer.  "Not even so much as a
thank you."

"This isn't All Hallows..." The vampire stammered,
retreating in fear.

"The night the dead walk.  You're right it's not.  It's
the night before."  Natalie affirmed slowly stalking her
prey.

"Then this isn't possible... I killed you."  He stood up,
trying to cast an imposing figure.

Natalie stood directly in front of him now, "You're right...
You did."  She grabbed the creature by the lapels and flung
him against the wall of the stairwell.  He slammed against
it with a sickening, bone shattering crunch.  "There seems to
be a small matter of a theft between you and I."  The vampire
was groggy as he staggered to his feet.  Before he was fully
standing, Natalie was in front of him again.  He snarled and
tried to fly as Natalie grabbed the front of his shirt and
swung her weight under him, she caused him to skid against
the gravel and tar roof on his face.  "You have something
of mine... I want it back."

Alexander was starting to pull himself off the ground again,
when the ... whatever this woman was, spoke.   There was no
way a mere mortal could throw him around as she had, and he
knew he had killed her.  He remembered the sweet nectar of
her blood, her life, her love and faith from when he had taken
it. He started laughing, almost hysterically.  "Your life...
I can't give that back.  I don't even have a life to give.
I'm dead..."

Natalie had again stalked up behind him.  "While I used to
like to debate that point, I seem to have lost interest in it
now."  She looked down at the hysterical vampire in disgust and
planted a booted foot squarely between his shoulders forcing
him down again, as she turned her attention to filling a
hypodermic from a small vial.  "It's my blood I want," Natalie
spoke as she bent, jabbing the needle into the vampire's neck
and depressing the plunger.

The vampire started to struggle but found that his limbs no
longer seemed to respond to his mind's commands.  "Curare." The
mortal woman filled in the blank for him and he felt himself,
rather abstractly, being towed towards the stairwell.  "Your
community is right.  A mortal with this knowledge is quite
dangerous, even more so once you've killed her and pissed her
off."  He could see the bright light of the open stairwell
door and felt her boot connect with his ass as she kicked him
down the stairs.

Natalie played kickball with the vampire's prone body all the
way down the stairs.  A part of her was nervous that she
would be detected, but the more ruthless part of her mind
reminded her that there was normally only a skeleton staff
on her shift.  A part of her wilted as she remembered it wasn't
'her' shift anymore, she was dead.  Another part of her
translated that sorrow to anger as it reminded her that it
was the sorry bastard beneath her foot that had taken her life.
Having reached the morgue's floor she grabbed the creature by
the pant leg and hauled it towards one of the storage rooms
that were occasionally used for 'overflow'.  As fate would
have it, luck was with the avenging angel.  She passed into
the room undetected.  She lifted the limp body of the drugged
vampire onto a metal gurney stored in the room and proceeded
to set up the equipment she would need.  "You see my friend,
mortals have devised far more efficient ways of exsanguinating
a person than the old 'bite and suck' method.  I mean, my
goodness, you guys still depend on a heart beat to bring the
blood to the wound." Natalie efficiently started putting the
thick, needle into the vampire's neck.  The enforcer flinched
from the sting, "Oh, sorry, did that hurt?  It's just got to
be in a major artery otherwise it takes ~so~ long to finish."
Natalie plugged in the pump and checked all the tubing.  "You
see, when you steal something, if you get caught... which you
just were, you have to give back ...whatever you took..." With
an angelic smile, Natalie looked down at him and switched on
the pump.

---------'--------,--------<@

LaCroix snarled in disgust.  He had felt the 'presence' of both
the Enforcers extinguished tonight.  Their assignment had been
simple, to bring Janette back to him so he could bring her under
his protective 'wing', so to speak.  His one time daughter had
obviously eliminated them.  He had severely underestimated her.
A mistake he would not make again.

"Never send a childe to do an elder's job," LaCroix hissed as he
landed in the cemetery.  The cemetery where Nicholas and his
thrice damned doctor rested in 'peace'.  He could feel Janette's
presence here.  He walked through the mist and found her standing
before his son's gravesite, one side had obviously been recently
disturbed.  LaCroix's heart almost soared, could it be his son
had returned.   "Janette, you should come willingly to my summons.
I should not have to send someone to retrieve you."  LaCroix
jerked her around to face him, "And you should not destroy your
own kind, especially not when it is you who have broken the rules."

Janette stood silently, "I didn't destroy them LaCroix." Janette
looked compulsively at the broken ground of the grave.  She
approached him and took him by the shoulders, "Go LaCroix,
Mon pere.  Leave Toronto at once.  I do not know if it will save
you but..."

LaCroix pushed away from the vampiress and arched his eyebrow in
distaste.  "Afraid of ghosts are we now, Janette.  How pathetic.
It seems you inherited rather unfortunate traits from dear
Nicholas.  Well I am certain I can rid you of them."

"Please... Father.  For my love of you, go." Janette pleaded,
knowing her cries fell on deaf ears.  Then the piercing cry of
the crow split the night and a lone figure strode through the
mist.

"Too late."  Natalie's voice was monotone as her eyes pierced
into LaCroix's soul.

"I had to try," Janette kissed LaCroix on his cheek and stepped
away from her doomed sire.

"I know," Natalie's voice was kind as she regarded Janette.

LaCroix looked oddly at Natalie, "Doctor?  Those embassiles are
greater fools than I thought.  Dare I hope that Nicholas still
exists as well..."

Natalie snarled at the elder vampire, "I suppose not.  If he did,
you would not be here foolishly risking your life for revenge."

LaCroix strode fearlessly up to his son's mortal.  "Nicholas
promised me your life for Fleur's.  I think I shall take my payment
now."  The ancient slipped his hand underneath the mortal's chin,
only to feel himself flung aside like a rag doll.  He slammed into
the great wooden cross that stood silent vigil over the lonely
graveyard.  It toppled backwards, crashing to the ground.  Natalie
smiled wickedly as she moved toward him again.

Janette watched in silent horror as Natalie and LaCroix battled in
the cemetery.  After the initial round, Natalie seemed almost content
to allow LaCroix to batter and bludgeon her, only to frustrate and
enrage him by returning seemingly unharmed to challenge him again.
He roared and flew at her again.  She seemed to be goading him by
simply surviving.  That was the method to her madness.  This time
when she stood, Janette recognized the classic fencing maneuver
'Christ on A Cross', where the opponent stood arms stretched out, and
head on to an onrushing opponent.  LaCroix would have recognized it
too, if his blood rage hadn't been so strong.  As the ancient rushed
at Natalie headlong, Janette nearly called out to warn him, but
instead turned away as Natalie gracefully stepped to the side and
lunged with a stake that appeared in her hand from out of nowhere.

Janette heard a strange dragging noise and turned to find Natalie
pulling LaCroix's body towards the fallen cross.  "Natalie?"
Janette moved towards her slowly.

"Sorry, Janette.  This has to be done.  I've only immobilized him
with the stake, but if you try to stop me... I... I'll have to kill
you too."  Janette could hear the terror in the Doctor's voice as
she spoke, yet she had sounded so determined, even as though she had
relished the deaths of the others.  Janette stepped back and watched
as Natalie positioned LaCroix's body on the cross, tying each of his
wrists and then his ankles to it.   Then Natalie tied another rope
to the cross and slowly began to pull it into its upright position,
until it sank into the softened mud of its original hole again.
Natalie jumped unnaturally high and pulled the wooden stake from
the vampire's side.  LaCroix regained consciousness again with a
livid howl.

"Tonight my children, I want you to consider treachery."  Natalie
did an accurate imitation of the Nightcrawler, "Which is more
treacherous, to continuously betray your family, to hurt and abuse
them, to force them to dance to your tune.  Or in fact is it to do
this and tell them that you do it because you love them.  To tell
yourself you do it because you love them.   Which is the greater act
of treachery, the one you commit against them, or the one you commit
against yourself, against your honour, against your very soul."

"Nicholas was the traitor, Doctor."  LaCroix hissed weakly, the
pain from the holy symbol he was strapped to weakened him and his
wounds ached horribly.   "He betrayed his kind, he betrayed me
by pursuing his mortality."

"He did no such thing and you know it."  Natalie spat, "He may have
hated himself as a vampire, but he had no intention of betraying
the community.  He would never have called attention to you.  He may
have seen himself as evil, but he never treated the rest of the
community as though he thought they were.  You just had to take
revenge on him for rejecting you.  But he didn't reject you, he
never did.  But you can't see the difference between Lucien LaCroix
anymore and the vampire that you host.  He only rejected the beast,
not the man behind the beast." LaCroix shifted uncomfortably as
though some of the words stung too close to home, then glared at
the woman. "Crucifixion was the Roman punishment for traitors of the
state, wasn't it LaCroix?"  Natalie asked.  LaCroix didn't dain to
answer, "And that is how you come by your name isn't it? Lucien
LaCroix... LaCroix, the Cross?  You were the General of the regiment
that carried out the Crucifixions."  LaCroix gazed straight out.
"It seems rather ironic that you will die, as the many that you
put to death as a mortal."

"One short sleep past death, and we shall wake eternal."  LaCroix's
voice was calm.  Dark ominous clouds rolled violently through the sky
and a lightning bolt shot through the air.

"Wrong LaCroix... Only death is eternal."  Natalie corrected him.

Suddenly a pulse of lightning that screamed through the air and
struck the wooden cross lighted them both.  Its effect was instantaneous.
The wood blazed into a dance of flames that surrounded the elder vampire
and consumed him.  The rain started to fall.  Natalie held open her arms
and gazed heavenward as the rain poured over her.  Heaven's tears for
the loss that she had suffered for so long.  Then a golden light shone
beyond the smoldering cross and a familiar figure stood in it.

"Come my beautiful, brave crusader." Nick's voice was gentle. "It is time
to go home."

Natalie's tears streamed down her face, joining the rain in washing
away the black makeup, "Can you forgive me, Nick?"

"No need.  You did what had to be done.  Let the sorrow leave your soul.
We can be together now in peace."  Nick held open his arms to her.

Natalie turned to go into them, then stopped and turned her attention to
Janette.  "You know a year is a long time for Toronto to have been without
a protector.  It's your destiny now, you have no master save yourself now
Janette, you have to make the best you can with it.  Then when everything
is said and done, you'll be able to look yourself in the face and know you
were true to yourself.  Your love will abide, he'll wait for you to be
finished."

Janette watched as Nick waved to her, then Natalie crossed into the light
and into his tender embrace.  Janette stood mesmerized as their figures
faded from view.  The crow broke her silent reverie with its harsh cry into
the fading night.   Janette turned to the black creature before her and
held out her hand,  "You are right my friend."  Her arm fell to her side
as she noticed the sun's rays approaching,  "Dawn approaches.  Let's go
home."  She turned and began to walk, her new-feathered friend flew ahead
guiding her destiny.

---------'--------,--------<@

"My friends, I want you to consider this.  Love, though it is the most
fragile of emotions, is also the strongest, the fiercest and the most
abiding.  Some would have us believe that they can destroy love, that all
it takes is for love to fade is to remove the person.  But as long as
the spirit remains... As long as we remember the loves in our life, and
strive to do as they might, they are never truly gone.  They live on in
our hearts. "

Janette pulled away from the microphone and started the next tune for
her radio audience.  Then she turned her attention back to the mirror.
She smiled at her reflection as she finished drawing the black ankh that
graced her cheek.

~We walked the narrow path, beneath the smoking skies.
Sometimes you can barely tell the difference between darkness and light.
Do you have faith in what we believe?
The truest test is when we cannot, when we cannot see.

I hear pounding feet in the,
in the streets below, and the,
and the women crying and the,
and the children know that there,
that there's something wrong,
and it's hard to believe that
love will prevail.

Oh it won't rain all the time.
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
your tears won't fall forever.

Oh, when I'm lonely,
I lie awake at night and I wish you were here.
I miss you.
Can you tell me is there something more to believe in?
Or is this all there is?
In the pounding feet, in the,
In the streets below, and the,
And the window breaks and,
And a woman falls, there's,
There's something wrong, it's,
It's so hard to believe that love will prevail.

Oh it won't rain all the time.
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
your tears won't fall, your tears won't fall,
your tears won't fall forever.

Last night I had a dream.
You came into my room, you took me into your arms.
Whispering and kissing me, and telling me to still believe.
But then the emptiness of a burning sea against which we see
our darkest of sadness.
Until I felt safe and warm.
I fell asleep in your arms.
When I awoke I cried again for you were gone.
Oh, can you hear me?

It won't rain all the time.
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
your tears won't fall forever.

It won't rain all the time
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
your tears won't fall,
your tears won't fall,
your tears won't fall forever. ~

---------'--------,--------<@

Finis.

Comments to tabby_katt@...

Forever Knight *Nevermore* Part 2/3
By Rogue Cousin Tammy

---------'--------,--------<@

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of these characters.  Sony,
Paragon and JP own them all.  I have only borrowed them
and I promise to put them back where I found them.

This is also a crossover... Sort of.  I have borrowed a
certain legend, from The Crow that is owned by Universal
Studios and James O'Barr.  However I didn't use any of
their characters, except for a certain bird.  The song
at the end of the story is from The Crow soundtrack and
belongs to Jane Siberry.  If you are a Crow fan, please
realize I am not an avid fan, and this is crossed over
with the legend from the movie, with no mention of vipers
or other rules for a Crow.

Permission is granted for this to be archived in the
FK FanFic Archive.  Anyone else just drop me a line and
let me know.

This story contains strong language, but I didn't think
enough to drop it under the adult header.  Just as long as
you are forwarned.

It is set late third season, but LK won't happen (not to
say this is a happy story though!).

Thanks to my friend, Lisa (KnightOwl in IRC) for
Beta-ing this for me!

---------'--------,-------<@


*People once believed that when someone dies,
A crow carries their soul to the land of the dead.
But sometimes, something so bad happens,
That a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul
can't rest.
Then sometimes,
Just sometimes the crow could bring that soul back to put
the wrong things right.*

*Devil's Night - 1 year later*

A woman dressed in black knelt in front of the double grave,
and laid a dozen red and white roses on the perfectly
manicured lawn.  "So you could not be together in life, so
you are in death.  Rest easy Nichola.  I hope you are at
peace. "  Janette stood and looked up through the mist to
see a large black bird watching her perched on the arm of one
of the huge wooden crosses that decorated the graveyard.
"What do you want my friend?"  She smiled when she recognized
the crow, not a raven, but an omen none the less.  She turned
her attention back to the grave.  "Natalie, you had to
realize that it was a fool's errand you were on.  LaCroix
would never allow anyone to have Nichola but himself.  Not
even me.  If he couldn't have him, then no one would.  I wish
you both would have had your chance.  Now there is nothing.
LaCroix wins.  He always wins."  Janette's voice was tinged
with anger.

The silence of the graveyard was pierced by the horrid
screech of the crow.  Janette turned her attention back to it,
"Yes, my impatient friend, I am leaving now."  She turned
back to the grave, "Seems I am no longer welcome here, old
friends.  Good night.  I will see you again next year."  A
shiver ran up Janette's spine as she turned from the gravesite
'If I can'.  She gently wiped a ruby tear from her cheek and
walked from the cemetery.

The crow watched the vampiress leave, then started to beat
its wings and scream it's cry to the heavens.  The ground
beneath the roses began to tremble, as though something was
burrowing beneath.  The earth shook as though unwilling to
give up it's prize, then it broke upwards, a slender hand
grasping at the air above.  More ground was clawed away until
another hand and a head emerged from its earthen tomb, then a
torso.  Finally the figure pulled itself from the ground and
huddled in the dampness beside the tombstone trembling as
fragments of scenes of death played through it's mind, memories
of pain and glistening fangs.  The pain echoed in its heart and
the fleeting memories drove the person stumbling from the
graveyard into the deserted streets of Toronto's night.
Searching for something, somewhere.  The only sound, the
piercing screech of the crow from overhead.

After what seemed like walking for hours through an almost
deserted district of Toronto in a hazy nightmare of haunting
memories, but not being able to make any sense of them, an old
warehouse loomed in front of the creature's field of vision.
For some reason this place struck a resonance within it's soul.
A resonance that screamed for it to enter.  Approaching the door
and punching in the access code came as second nature, even
though the figure had yet to put together who they were, or why
they were here.  The crow flew overhead as the person stepped
into the lift just beyond the doors.

The elevator cables squealed unhealthily as the car rose slowly
upwards.  The figure didn't even notice the mechanical screams
of protest.  Memories kept its mind in the past.  Riding up in
this elevator, expecting to see boxes packed, ready to fight,
ready to plead.  The elevator jolted heavily and the doors
opened slowly.  The lost soul stepped out, everything was familiar
but distant.  Everything was covered in sheets; pulling away one
revealed a piano. Shocks of memories and piano music filled its
ears and mind... "It's been easier this way in the past," heart
thundering, pain inside, tears, "I am what I am and I don't think
Betty Ford takes vampires," anger, frustration, longing.  The
memories continued their assault as the figure climbed the stairs.
Every step was a challenge but it finally reached the top.  Moving
forward they found themselves in another room filled with more
objects covered in dusty cloths.  It moved to pull away another
sheet revealing a dressing mirror.  Wild chestnut hair filled with
dirt, pale skin smudged with dust, sad blue eyes, and a ruined blue
dress.  "Who?" She asked to no one in particular.  Then the crow's
plaintive call echoed through the loft and another memory filled
her mind. "I love you Natalie Lambert, I have loved you from the
moment you touched my face that first night in the morgue."  She
screamed in anguish and collapsed to the floor as she relived that
night.  The ordeal of Nick's return to humanity and their
short-lived joy as LaCroix and the Enforcers had come for their
pound of flesh.  They had fought so long, only to loose everything
to the ancient bastard.  She remembered LaCroix's cold words as
Nick had pleaded, then the fangs, then nothingness, until now.

"NICK!!!  Oh god, Nick!"  Natalie Lambert crumbled to the floor
sobbing in anguish, while the crow watched from the broken skylight.
Natalie spent what seemed like hours crying, trying to decipher what
quirk of fate had dictated that she would return to the land of the
living and be separated even in death from her true love.  Then the
sorrow passed and only the anger remained.  She stood slowly,
determinedly.  "You wanted your pound of flesh, LaCroix.  Now I
take mine."

Natalie picked herself up from the floor and found her way to the
bathroom.  She started the tap running, the water was like ice,
but it didn't phase her.  She stripped off the tattered remains
of her dress and stepped into the tub closing the shower door.
She yanked violently on the rod to bring the water to the shower
and stood silently under the spray, allowing the water to beat
away a year's worth of grime.  Having gotten herself reasonably
clean using the toiletries that had been left behind, she shut
off the shower and padded her way, still dripping, to Nick's
wardrobe. Pulling the sheet covering it away, she opened the door
and began to assemble her ensemble.  Her first choice was a black
turtleneck sweater.  She raised it to her face and breathed in
deeply.  Tears threatened to come; it still smelled of her love.
"I have faith.  When I am done here I will be with you, Nick."
She pulled the sweater over her still wet body and started to
rummage for a pair of black jeans that she had left here some time
ago.  These were followed by a pair of black leather biker boots
that must have belonged to Janette or been a present for the
vampiress.

"You think you are death, all dressed in black, LaCroix.  You are
nothing compared to me..." Natalie hissed at the mirror.  Something
was missing.   Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
She was deathly pale.  Paler than most of the vampires she had ever
known.  Her hair was wet and would dry wild, like a wild animal on
a hunt.  She grinned as she realized what was missing, and it wasn't
a pleasant grin.  After some searching she found the bag she had left
at the loft and within it the black kohl pencil.  First she lined
her eyes with the eyeliner, giving herself an almost wolf-like look.
Her lips were next, "A black kiss... The kiss of death."  Finally
she drew a small ankh on her right cheek just below the corner of
her eye, "For I am death LaCroix, and only death is eternal."
Finally satisfied with her appearance.  She stopped only to pick
up Nick's black leather duster, a final affectation before she began
her hunt then she walked up the rest of the stairs to the roof of the
loft.  She stood looking out at the night sky of Toronto.  At one
time it might have been good to be home, but now all she wanted to
do was what needed to be done and to get the hell out of here.
She leaned against the railing on the roof and the crow landed on
her arm. She looked at it sullenly;  "Cry havoc..." The crow
launched itself into the air screaming its war cry to the skies.
Natalie climbed to the top of the rail and jumped.

---------'--------,--------<@

Janette stood in the abandoned nightclub that had once been her
Raven.  Not having been rented since all the vampires had left
Toronto, since the Enforcers had named this city anathema, since
Natalie and Nick had succeeded in their quest, only to loose
their life it was full of wreckage and paper from the original
club.  Wreckage like what was left of the vampiress' life. Now
she was risking death to even be here.  She resented LaCroix for
this.  Why had Nick been so damned important?  He hadn't hunted
her down when she found her mortality again.  He hadn't cared.
His beloved daughter, what a crock.  Janette turned away from
the bar angrily, only to find herself face to face with an
Enforcer.  "Does your entire family have a death wish?  Or do
you all just have a problem with authority?"

When she had ventured into Toronto against the edicts of the
council, she had expected to pay for it with her life.  Janette
now stood defiantly, awaiting the Enforcer's blow to end her
existence.  Instead, their attention was drawn to a figure that
had somehow entered the club unnoticed.  Janette and the Enforcer
turned when they heard it clearing its throat rather loudly.
Janette blinked as a familiar, yet unexpected voice asked calmly.
"Am I interrupting something Janette?"

Janette could barely believe her eyes.  Standing before her in
morbid, Goth splendor was... "Natalie?"

"Knight's mortal?"  The Enforcer looked harshly at the mortal
woman.  He could hear her heartbeat, but it just wasn't possible.
His partner had drained her.  He had watched her die.

She smiled maliciously, arched her eyebrow and bowed mockingly
at the Enforcer.

The Enforcer felt his ire rise.  How dare a *mortal* mock him
like that.  Then his mind started mulling the possibilities over.
This could be an excellent opportunity to rise above his partner
in the ranks of the Enforcers.  If he could prove that he had
botched the job...  "I don't know how you survived my partner
draining you, but I'm more thorough than he is!"  The Enforcer
focused his gaze on the ex-coroner.

Natalie smiled, "Be my guest.  I can't be with Nick until
you're done with me."

"Natalie, non!"  Janette started forward to stop the mortal
woman, but Natalie's eyes held her to her place.  Even as the
Enforcer pushed the high neck of Natalie's sweater down and
forced her neck to arch, an unearthly glow in Natalie's eyes
kept the vampire woman frozen.  Janette watched in horror as
the male vampire's fangs sliced into their target and Natalie
fell limp in the other vampire's arms, her eyes closing.
A strange look passed over the Enforcer's face and Natalie's
eyes flashed open again.

"Quite the special vintage, aren't I?"  Natalie asked darkly.
The vampire pulled away from her clutching his throat.
Natalie stood and straightened her sweater.  "Like nothing
you've ever tasted before," she continued.  The vampire
stumbled and fell to his knees.  Natalie stood glaring at him
imperiously.  Her leg flashed out like lightning, kicking the
creature in the chest.  This caused him to fall over against
the littered floor, and Natalie planted her booted foot on his
chest and rested her weight against it, bending her knee and
grinding down her heal as he squirmed weakly.  "You know why
I am different from any of the humans you've slaughtered
before?  Why my blood is such a special vintage?  It's death.
I'm dead.  I have been since your partner slaughtered
Nicholas de Brabant and I that night.  Are you enjoying it?
I hope so, because it is the last you will ever sample."
Natalie hissed and raised her foot from the now still form
on the floor.  The whites of its eyes showed as they had
rolled back into the back of its head.  Then like a film of a
body decomposing running in fast forward, the skin became
like paper until it was translucent, then it was dust
scattered over the bones and finally even they turned to dust.
Natalie kicked at the pile viscously, "Ashes to ashes, dust
to dust..."

Janette had spent the past few minutes watching in fascinated
horror as Natalie had lured the Enforcer into her web like a
spider luring a fly.  Janette had never thought Natalie capable
of it, but then perhaps it was not Natalie that was capable,
but what she had become.  Natalie's haunting eyes turned their
attention to her again.  "Hello Janette... Surprised to see me?"

Janette could only nod slightly.  Natalie smiled again, a smile
that was meant to set the other woman at ease.  "I spent a year
dead for tax purposes."  Natalie's voice was almost teasing and
sounded more normal than it had been since she came in.  In
spite of her shock, Janette had to smile.  Then from somewhere
above, the screech of a crow made Natalie look sharply in the
direction it came from.

"How?"  Janette asked, as she too looked skyward to the
ceiling of the Raven.

"I don't know.  I'm sorry Janette, but there are too many
things to do tonight and then..." Natalie straightened out her
clothing and started to walk towards the stairs again.

"Then you'll … be gone again."  Janette finished.  Natalie
stopped and nodded solemnly without looking at the vampiress.
"Toronto is off limits to the community, since what happened
with you and Nicholas.  My coming here is what has summoned them."

"Thanks, Janette."  Natalie spoke still looking out towards
the stairs and the door.

"And Natalie...  LaCroix is here too.  I sense him."  Janette's
voice seemed uncertain.  As much as she hated what LaCroix did
to her, to Nick, to all around him, he was still her master,
after a fashion, and she knew what a confrontation between
Natalie and the elder vampire would bring.

"I know," Natalie stood still, knowing that Janette had one
more thing to say.

"When you see him… Tell Nicholas I miss him… And I forgive
him for bringing me back."  Janette's voice was near to breaking
as was her cold heart.  Natalie nodded again and climbed the
stairs.  As the last flicker of her black coat passed through
the door, Janette continued, "Good hunting."

---------'--------,--------<@

End Part Two, Continued in Part Three

Comments to tabby_katt@...

Forever Knight ~Nevermore~
By Rogue Cousin Tammy

---------'--------,--------<@

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of these characters.  Sony,
Paragon and JP own them all.  I have only borrowed them
and I promise to put them back where I found them.

This is also a crossover... Sort of.  I have borrowed a
certain legend, from The Crow that is owned by Universal
Studios and James O'Barr.  However I didn't use any of
their characters, except for a certain bird.  The song
at the end of the story is from The Crow soundtrack and
belongs to Jane Siberry.  If you are a Crow fan, please
realize I am not an avid fan, and this is crossed over
with the legend from the movie, with no mention of vipers
or other rules for a Crow.

Permission is granted for this to be archived in the
FK FanFic Archive.  Anyone else just drop me a line and
let me know.

This story contains strong language, but I didn't think
enough to drop it under the adult header.  Just as long as
you are forwarned.

It is set late third season, but LK won't happen (not to
say this is a happy story though!).

Thanks to my friend, Lisa (KnightOwl in IRC) for
Beta-ing this for me!

---------'--------,-------<@

*He was brought across in 1228
Preyed on humans for their blood
Now he wants to be mortal again
To repay society for his sins
To emerge from his world of darkness
His endless…
Forever Knight!*

*Devil's Night - 1996*

Nick sat alone in the darkness.  His bitterest
enemy was soon to win.

Time.

It was ironic that an immortal vampire's worst enemy
was the one thing that could never touch him.  However
it could touch those he loved, and that is what
separated him from them.  And *would* separate him
from them.

Nick knew it was past time for him to move on.  Well
past time.  Something… No, someone held him here.  He
smiled at the thought, while struggling to release
himself from one master, he had found another.  One
who's yoke was not too hard to bear.  Love.  And the
object of his affections, Natalie.

Of course, this was why LaCroix hated her so.

Nick could hear the gentle footsteps on the sidewalk
outside.  The distinctive cadence to her step, her gentle
humming and the steady rhythm of her breathing.  She had
called and insisted on coming over.  Nick had argued with
her, he hadn't wanted her to come.

Normally he would have welcomed his light into the dark
vault that he called his home, but tonight was different.
It was emptier than it had been before, and he didn't want
her to see.  Not yet.  He needed one more night, then he
would bring himself to tell her he was going.

But Natalie would have none of it. She was coming over,
whether he liked it or not.  And if he had tried to keep
her out, he wouldn't have put it past her to have some
uniforms she knew break down his door.

He tried not to think about *why* she'd insisted on coming.
Not wanting to get his hopes up.  Remembering her almost
uncanny ability to sense when he was about to leave.
Knowing she'd insist on coming with him, knowing his life
was not one for a human, knowing he didn't want to condemn
her to his darkness, and not trusting himself not to.

The elevator gears ground steadily as it brought Natalie
nearer.  The doors creaked open to Nick's hearing and a
cheerful... No, overly cheerful voice came from behind him,
"To quote Dr. McCoy... 'I'm beginning to think I could cure
the common cold'!"  Nick braced himself for the barrage he
knew was coming, and in that process had somehow not heard
what she had said.

In turn Natalie hadn't noticed that there were fewer items
strewn about the loft. Where cherished items had once rested,
there were conspicuously empty places.  Natalie spoke
expectantly, "Ask me what I've got Nick."

Nick stood silent, stunned by what hadn't happened.

Natalie stood watching Nick, her mood slowly being overtaken
by a dark shadow as her consciousness began to register the
emptiness around her.  "You were leaving."  It was a
statement not a question.

"It's time."  Nick responded.

"You were going to tell me?" Natalie questioned.

"Yes"

"When?"

"Tomorrow, I'm sorry Nat... It's time."

The shadow loomed for a moment, then she smiled.  "Well I
guess I really am Dr. McCoy!"

Nick stood, wondering if Natalie had somehow lost her mind.

"You know, Nick... McCoy always found the answer at the last
possible second. Well..."

Nick still stood, staring blankly.

"The answer, Nick."

Nick's brow furrowed as he cocked his head.  "What answer,
Nat?  There is no answer unless..."

"Unless..." Natalie prompted.

Nick's eyes became wide and his voice cracked, "Unless...I
become human."

"Janette was right.  You are a brick.  Good thing I'll be the
smart one in the family!"   Natalie laughed. Nick stood
silently... stunned at her words.  Natalie walked up to Nick
and pressed a small vial into his hand, "The answer, Nick...
The cure."

He looked at the vial in wonder not wanting to believe, but
Natalie seemed so positive, so sure.  He looked at her not
quite willing to believe.  "I haven't tested it.  Not as
thoroughly as I would like anyway.  But there aren't that
many test subjects to test it on, so I've done my best."
Natalie wrapped her hands around his.  "Somehow I just know
Nick... This is it."

"Do I swallow it or do you have to inject it?"  He asked as
he swirled the liquid in the vial allowing the glittering
green liquid to mesmerize him.

"Oral," Natalie answered in doctor mode; "You swallow it."

Nick pulled Natalie into his arms and kissed her with all
the emotion in his heart.  Their bodies melted together,
each knowing the risk that this liquid presented.  Sometimes
cures killed.  Only the unwelcome emergence of the vampire
forced them apart.  Nick pulled away, his golden eyes
glittering as he pulled the stopper from the vial, he looked
into Natalie eyes, and spoke tenderly, "I love you Natalie
Lambert,  I have loved you from the moment you touched my
face that first night in the morgue."  Then he brought the
vial to his lips and swallowed.

The reaction was immediate and violent.  His eyes rolled
into the back of his head, and he collapsed on the floor.
Natalie rushed to his side, but she could only watch as his
heart and respiration rate skyrocketed.  Tears flowed
unbidden down her cheeks.  Self-recrimination flooded her
mind but she could not speak, not even to voice her apology
for bringing Nick to this.  His body started convulsing and
expelling blood from every opening available to it. Natalie
rolled Nick onto his side and into the recovery position as
blood poured out over the floor from his mouth.  Natalie had
her doubts he would survive this but if he was going to make
it, then she had to prevent him from choking to death on his
own blood. Having accomplished moving him, she went
mechanically into the kitchen for a basin of warm water and
some face clothes.  She had expected side effects or some
reaction, but nothing on this magnitude.  Returning to his
side,  she began gently wiping his brow to remove the excess
blood, only to have it replaced by more. She rinsed and wrung
out the cloth again, then went back to fighting the uphill
battle.  Then she started to sing anything she could remember
to comfort the man she loved, if he could even hear her now.
Hymns, folk songs and half-remembered nursery songs filled the
air in Natalie's beautiful, sad voice.  She sang until her throat
hurt and her head was pounding from dehydration and need of sleep.
With her constant persistence and care, Nick had finally quieted.
His body no longer oozing his life's blood.   Natalie, exhausted
from her efforts and covered in blood, lay down beside him and
drifted into unconsciousness.

She was waken by the sound of someone coughing.  Her mind refused
to believe that she had killed Nick.  But yet she knew there was
no way he could have survived that amount of blood loss.  She
startled when the coughing was replaced by a hoarse voice, "Nat,
help me... I am so thirsty."

Natalie rolled up onto her knees and moved beside him. A random
thought ran through her mind as she remembered how horrific she
must have looked caked in blood, but all that mattered to her now
was that Nick was alive. He reached out to her and she pulled him
to a sitting position with his back against his couch.  "I'll get
you something Nick," she was crying again, "Just hang on..." She
ran into the kitchen and pulled out one of Nick's many green
bottles and a plastic carton of orange juice for herself.
She returned to sit beside him and handed him the green bottle,
"Here you go Nick."

He uncorked the bottle and unceremoniously and let the cork land
with a thud on the floor.  He raised the bottle to his lips, but
pulled away in revulsion as the smell overtook him.  He put the
bottle down on the floor and turned to Nat.  He raised his arm
weakly and he pointed to her orange juice, "I would prefer that."

She was somewhat stunned but she brought the carton to his lips and
tipped it.  Nick sucked greedily at the contents, his body
reclaiming the liquid that he had lost.  Natalie broke out into
gales of laughter punctuated by heavy sobs.  As Nick finished the
orange juice he pulled her to him weakly and whispered in her ear,
"You did it.  I'm mortal.  We can do everything we've dreamed of."

"There is a *we* then?"  Natalie pulled away from him asking to
re-affirm what he had said to her last night.

"Didn't you believe me... I meant every word Natalie.  When I
regain my strength, I am going to make love to you over and over
again.  I'll prove my love to you time and time again with every
child we have and every year we spend together."  He pulled her
closer crushing her lips to his.  He deepened the kiss as he began
to stroke her back.  Their minds whirled with their passion for
each other and of their possible future together.

"How quaint." An unwelcome voice echoed through the emptiness of
the loft, "You really thought she would be allowed to make you
mortal again and there would be no consequences?  How foolish,
Nicholas."  LaCroix stood before them fully vamped out, he knelt
and held Natalie's chin in his hand.  "I am afraid we will have to
make an example of you doctor."  He turned his attentions to Nick,
"Then you will return to me, Nicholas."  LaCroix released Natalie
and stepped back.  Two enforcers stepped forward and pulled Natalie
from Nick's weak grasp.

Nick tried to lift himself to go to Natalie's aid, but he fell
weakly against the couch like a rag doll. He reached out toward his
love as he pleaded with the enforcers.  Nick spat at them angrily,
"You owe her... The entire community owes her.  She saved us all
from the fever,"

One of them sneered and bent Natalie's neck to the side.

LaCroix spoke up, "I am afraid the code is the code, Nicholas.  That
debt was paid by allowing her to survive so long."

"Do this LaCroix and I will never return.  You've already lost me."
Nick had to try.  LaCroix had to be bluffing.  There was a flicker
of something in the ancient's eyes that was quickly walled up behind
LaCroix's mask.

LaCroix turned away from him and barely spoke above a whisper,  "So
be it..."

---------'--------,-------<@

End Part One, continued in Part Two

Comments to tabby_katt@...

As I have just told Barbara, When I say a story  has to be posted on or
after the 15th of October to be eligible, I do mean the whole story. So if
you have only posted 2 or 3 parts then you may enter it.

Kylie.
knightraven@...
"What a wonderful thing humanity is...Passionate, intelligent, inquisitive,
generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit, and above all...delicious!"
Check out the Raven Awards at my webpage!!
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
Join the Raven Awards for Forever Knight Fiction at
http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards

Ooops!!!

I did it again ... I've got to learn to check the return addy *before* I hit
'Reply'!  Sorry everyone, that message was obviously meant to go to Kylie
privately.  I didn't receive her post about updating the rules, and was
asking if there was a problem with Onelist.  She kindly re-posted it, and I
was thanking her for that.

My apologies!

---
~Carol B.    fbrady@...

GWDFC**Wolfville'99
UCC**NNPack**DarkNN**Knightie**FkN
Visit the Upper Canada Connection at:
http://members.home.net/gwducc/index.htm

hi kylie :)

first of all, i read Planes, Bombs and Vampires and i was laughing tears when
Nicky and Jenny ran thought the hotel with the waiters clothes... I really
envisioned the whole scene :)
this was simply priceless :) I love your stories :)

secondly... I just finished my first story but i posted the first two chapters
already last week in the fkfanfic l list.... so i presume i will have to write
another story for the ravenawards ? Or might i take that one ? Just a question.
It is actually the first fk story i have ever written and the first fanfic story
i actually finished...in any language, might it be german or english. I have
tried a story of Vader fan fiction once but i have never finished it.......
the fk story i am talking about, is currently at ivy for provereading. the story
is about 40 pages long ( approx. 13500 words ) 9 chapters. Title : Quo Vadis,
Lucius?

Well, if i have to write another story for the ravenawards, i will certainly do
so :)

Greetings from Germany :)

Iejasu aka Barbara

Kylie Coleman-Tucker schrieb:

> From: "Kylie Coleman-Tucker" <knightraven@...>
>
> This is a repeat of the last update.
>
> G'day mates!
>
> Okay! It's time for an update!
>
> 1. For those of you who have not visited the Raven website recently, I have
> added a 4th category to the competition.
>
> Novus Adultus - Much as the title implies, this is a strictly NC17 category
> for Novus entrants only.
> <eg> Come on....I KNOW you're just dying to write it!<eg>
>
> 2. Also, I have had a few requests for stories which have recently been
> posted to other lists, to be allowed into the competition.
> So this is the official ruling!
> Any Fiction posted after the 15th of October MAY be ENTERED. BUT! It must
> ONLY go into the Primus or Adultus categories. No further leeway will be
> given in this regard, so please don't ask!<g>
>
> Hmm. Okay I think that's it for now.<g> I shall look forward to seeing what
> you've got!
>
> Any other questions etc, please ask:
> Kylie.
> knightraven@...
> "What a wonderful thing humanity is...Passionate, intelligent, inquisitive,
> generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit, and above all...delicious!"
> Check out the Raven Awards at my webpage!!
> http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
> Join the Raven Awards for Forever Knight Fiction at
> http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards
>
> > Community email addresses:
>   Post message: ravenawards@onelist.com
>   Subscribe:    ravenawards-subscribe@onelist.com
>   Unsubscribe:  ravenawards-unsubscribe@onelist.com
>   List owner:   ravenawards-owner@onelist.com
>
> Shortcut URL to this page:
>   http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards

I got this message fine, Kylie.  Thanks for re-posting it!

This seems to happen off and on with different Onelist communities.  I know
I've posted  things to DarkNN which have somehow got lost in cyberspace ...
or else drop days later.

Technology ... ya gotta love it, right?  <g>


---
~Carol B.    fbrady@...

GWDFC**Wolfville'99
UCC**NNPack**DarkNN**Knightie**FkN
Visit the Upper Canada Connection at:
http://members.home.net/gwducc/index.htm

This is a repeat of the last update.


G'day mates!

Okay! It's time for an update!

1. For those of you who have not visited the Raven website recently, I have
added a 4th category to the competition.

Novus Adultus - Much as the title implies, this is a strictly NC17 category
for Novus entrants only.
<eg> Come on....I KNOW you're just dying to write it!<eg>

2. Also, I have had a few requests for stories which have recently been
posted to other lists, to be allowed into the competition.
So this is the official ruling!
Any Fiction posted after the 15th of October MAY be ENTERED. BUT! It must
ONLY go into the Primus or Adultus categories. No further leeway will be
given in this regard, so please don't ask!<g>

Hmm. Okay I think that's it for now.<g> I shall look forward to seeing what
you've got!

Any other questions etc, please ask:
Kylie.
knightraven@...
"What a wonderful thing humanity is...Passionate, intelligent, inquisitive,
generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit, and above all...delicious!"
Check out the Raven Awards at my webpage!!
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
Join the Raven Awards for Forever Knight Fiction at
http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards

Please see disclaimers in Part 1.


One Lonely Knight
By: C. Brady
Written in October, 1999


Part 3/3

It never came.

Shouting "NO!!" and flinging himself violently away from her, Nicholas put
the width of the room between them.

Abruptly, it seemed that the bands around her will had been released.  She
tried desperately to clear the cobwebs from her brain.  What was going on?
She felt almost drugged, or drunk, and her usually razor-sharp mind was
responding sluggishly, at best.  But her survival instinct was in overdrive,
insisting that she do something ... NOW!!

Good God, had he *hypnotized* her?  Weren't vampires supposed to be able to
do that?  She was woefully ignorant on supernatural legends--her focus had
always been on the scientific.  She had always firmly believed that
*everything* had a reasonable, logical explanation.  But tonight ... tonight
she had turned 28, and her well-ordered, rational existence had just been
ruthlessly shattered.  Well, she wouldn't be caught unprepared a second
time!  She'd be *damned* if she'd let him do that to her again.

Nicholas was standing across the room, leaning on her desk, bent over as if
in pain.  His back was to her, but she could read the tension and strain in
the rigidity of his shoulders.  He was breathing rapidly--she could hear the
shallow gasps from where she stood.  The doctor in her re-asserted itself,
and she was compelled to ask,

"Are you all right?"

Nicholas stiffened, and then suddenly spun on his heels so that he was
facing her once again.  Natalie gasped.  His eyes were no longer gold, they
were now a bright, blood red.  They were glowing with a profane hunger, and
Nat shivered at the raw need she saw reflected there.  The sudden thought of
how close she had come to death tried to rob her knees of their strength.
Yet ... she felt a wave of compassion for this handsome creature, who was so
obviously struggling with his desires.

Nicholas closed his eyes, his internal battle evident in the set of his
features.  After an agonizing few seconds, he looked at her again, his eyes
once more a blameless blue.

"Look at me!"  Nicholas commanded in an imperious tone.

Keeping a firm grip on her will, Natalie complied, afraid that an outward
show of defiance would be *very* ill-advised at this particular point in
time.  She could feel that buzzing in her head again, but it was weaker,
less insistent than it had been earlier.

"You will forget this whole incident," Nicholas instructed.  "You will have
no memory of tonight's events at all, do you understand?"

Thinking that a little subterfuge might be in her best interest, Nat nodded
her acceptance of his suggestion.

"You must forget ... SAY IT!" he ordered.

"I ... I must forget," Nat repeated, desperately hoping he believed her.

"You will have no memory of our meeting, and you don't believe in vampires,"
he continued.

"I won't remember our meeting ... I don't believe in vampires," Natalie
parroted.

"Good ... now close your eyes," he said gently.

Obediently, Natalie closed her eyes to slits, peeking out at him and
wondering what was coming next.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she watched him slowly approach her once
again.  What was he going to do?  Did he see through her facade?  She
stood still and outwardly remained calm through sheer force of will.  He
stopped directly in front of her and his hand reached out to caress her hair
once again.

"So beautiful ... and so brave," he murmured, with a sad smile.  "Good-bye,
Dr. Natalie Lambert ... how I wish I could have met you at another time ...
another century ... before ..." he whispered, almost too softly for her to
hear.  Leaning forward, he brushed a ghost of a kiss lightly across her
forehead.  Then, before she could draw a breath ... he was gone.

Natalie's eyes flew open and she quickly scanned the room.  He was nowhere
to be found, it was as if he had vanished into thin air.  The speed with
which he could move was mind-boggling!  One moment, he was standing right in
front of her, and the next, he was just ... gone.

The adrenalin rush she had experienced, which had allowed her to deal with
this unbelievable situation, was now receding ... and Natalie found herself
starting to shake uncontrollably.  Quickly moving to her chair before her
legs gave out on her, she collapsed onto it.  Laying her head on her arms at
her desk, she concentrated on taking deep, calming breaths.  Gradually, her
galloping heart slowed to a more reasonable pace, and she could once again
think coherently.

Sitting up, she began to think about what had taken place.  She still found
it incredibly hard to believe that she had actually encountered a real, live
vampire.  It was the 20th century, for heaven sake!  But she was too
objective to not believe evidence that had been right before her eyes.  As
much as she would like to scoff at the idea of the paranormal, the creature
she had encountered tonight was certainly beyond her experience.  She was
fascinated by him.  He mentioned being many people over the past 800 years;
was it really possible for a being to live that long?  Could she help him?
Would he allow her to?  He seemed capable of tenderness--his gentle touch as
he stroked her hair proved that.  He was also not ruthless, much as he had
tried to convince her of that with his comment about destroying little girls
like her.  He could have killed her ... indeed she believed he *wanted* to
kill her for a short time, but he didn't.  Nat shivered when she remembered
how she had *craved* that fatal embrace, she had yearned for the feeling of
his teeth piercing her flesh.  He had influenced her somehow, but *how*?

Realizing she had more questions than answers, she decided then and there
that she would find him again, somehow.  She'd make him understand that she
honestly wanted to help him, and hoped that he would be able to trust her.

Her mouth set in a determined line, she vowed to herself, 'Oh, yes ... we
*will* meet again, Nicholas, my eight-hundred-year-old friend.  I have a
feeling we're going to be a big part of each other's lives from now on ... "

<Finis> (?)

One Lonely Knight
By: C. Brady
Written in October, 1999

I love feedback!  All comments are welcome at fbrady@...
Thanks for reading!

Please see disclaimers in Part 1.

One Lonely Knight
By: C. Brady
Written in October, 1999

Part 2/3


The 'corpse' was now sitting up on the autopsy table, looking around in
confusion.  Nat dropped the phone and gasped.

His head whipped around and Nat found herself pinned by a pair of amber
eyes.  They were *glowing*, for the love of God!  His lips peeled back from
his teeth, and Natalie suddenly had a very clear view of a pair of elongated
canines, which looked to be wickedly sharp.  Nat took a few steps backwards,
and was stopped suddenly by the wall pressing up against her back.  She
could hear her heart thundering in her ears as her brain made a furious
attempt to find some logical explanation for the sight before her.

"What the ... what the *hell*??" she managed to sputter.  "You were *dead* a
minute ago!  Who *are* you? she demanded.

"You don't need to know ..." was the only answer she received.

The man leapt off the table and started scanning the room again.
Spotting the refrigerator in the back of the room, he almost ran over to it.
Flinging the door open, he grabbed a bag filled with whole blood.  Then, to
her horror and revulsion, he pierced it with those unusual teeth, and began
to *drink* it.  In less than thirty seconds, he had the bag completely
drained of its contents.  He pulled out another.

Nat had the surreal feeling that this was all some kind of bizarre waking
nightmare.  Her logical mind could not fathom what her eyes were witnessing.

"Who are you?" she whispered.  "*What* are you?"

She was again pinned by those mesmerizing golden eyes as he answered in a
deep, smooth voice, "Something very different from you ..."

Bringing the full bag up to his mouth, he began to drink.  He drained this
one as swiftly as the first, and threw the empty bag into the sink on the
autopsy table.

Natalie was horrified by what she had seen, but her scientific mind demanded
answers.  Slowly, she approached the handsome, terrifying stranger.  He
watched her as she drew slowly nearer, those incredible eyes shining with an
unholy interest.  He licked his lips as he watched her move steadily closer.

Nat had the uncomfortable feeling that he was looking at her in much the
same way as she would look at a piece of triple chocolate cheesecake.  It
caused a shiver to run down her spine.  When she was about two feet away,
she stopped.  "What ...?" she began.

"I am a vampire," he stated flatly.

"A *vampire*," Natalie repeated with wonder.  Involuntarily, she reached out
to touch him.

With lightning fast reflexes, he captured her hand in his.  His look was a
clear warning ... stay back!  Slowly, he placed the back of her hand against
his cheek.  Natalie drew in a quick breath.

"You're so *cold*," she stated, amazed by the fact that his skin felt like
cool marble.  She noticed that his eyes were no longer that frightening,
glowing amber.  They were now a marvelous shade of denim blue.  He really
was a *very* attractive man.

He gave her a look filled with an ancient sadness.  "I'm dead," he answered.

"No.  No, you're not ... you're not *dead*,"  Natalie asserted.

He looked confused at first and then ... angry.

"What do you know about it, *doctor*?" he hissed, making her title seem
almost dirty.  "What do you know of my existence, my so-called 'life'?"

"Nothing that you don't tell me," Natalie responded, "but perhaps I could
help you."  Systematically, her mind was already trying to process possible
solutions to this new phenomenon.  "Maybe we could ..."

"*Help me*??  Do you have any idea how many *doctors* have offered to help
me?  How many experiments have been conducted on me?  How many lies, how
many false hopes?"  His eyes began to glow again.  "I am beyond mortal
'help'.  I am a hunter, doctor, a *predator*.  I take little girls like you
and I destroy them.  Shall I show you *exactly* what I am?"

Tightening his grip on her hand, he slowly pulled her closer, bringing her
into a lover's embrace.  Nat's heart leapt into her throat at his words, but
she was determined to show no fear.  Looking directly into his eyes, she
made a valiant effort to appear unafraid.

"You're a courageous woman, doctor.  You appear so unaffected, but I have an
advantage, you see ... I can *hear* the wild beating of your heart, the
leaping of your pulse.  I can *smell* your blood as it races through your
veins ..."  She was pressed up against his hard chest now, could feel the
coolness of his flesh even through the fabric of his shirt.  One of his
hands came up and pulled the clip out of her hair, allowing it to cascade in
fiery splendor around her shoulders.  He picked up an errant curl, allowing
it to slip through his fingers.

"You have beautiful hair, Dr... ?"

"L ... Lambert ... Natalie Lambert," she managed to state, somewhat
breathlessly.

"Dr. Lambert ... may I call you Natalie?" he asked, with a mocking
gallantry.  At her nod, he continued, "Your hair is like fire and silk.  You
should always wear it down, Natalie."  The way he said her name was almost a
caress.  She shivered.

"That ... that would be pretty difficult around here," Nat breathed.  "It
would only get in my way ..."

Moving his hand away from her hair, he gently stroked her cheek, and then
cupped her chin.  Tipping her head back, he locked his eyes onto hers.
Natalie found that she was unable to tear her gaze away from his.  His
glowing eyes were s-o-o-o intriguing.

"You are a very beautiful woman, Dr. Natalie Lambert ... what a sin to keep
such beauty shut away within this antiseptic chamber.  The dead can't
appreciate it ... but *I* can."  Slowly, be began to lower his mouth toward
hers.  At the first touch of his cool lips on her own, Nat felt lost.  There
was a buzzing sound in her head, and her brain felt as if it had been shot
full of Novocain.  He was cupping her face with both hands now, gently
placing feather-light kisses across her lips, teasing a response from her.
When he got it, he pulled her into a tight embrace, and deepened the kiss
... his tongue making its first gentle assault on her senses.  She
responded in kind, her tongue caressing the velvet of his.  Nat couldn't
understand what was happening--she was passionately kissing a stranger in
the middle of the morgue.  A stranger who, only ten minutes ago, had been a
corpse awaiting autopsy.  She didn't understand ... but she was helpless to
stop.  It was as if some inner voice was whispering to her, compelling her
to yield all choice to him.

Suddenly pulling his lips from hers, he began to rain passionate kisses
beside her mouth, and along her jaw.  Almost reluctantly, she felt him move
to her neck.  His tongue stroked the side of her throat, along her jugular,
which she knew would be jumping with the racing of her heart.  She heard a
low growl and felt the scrape of his teeth along her skin.  A part of her
wanted to push him closer, to increase the intimacy.  But another part ...
the stronger part ... was screaming at her to STOP!

"*Wait*!" she managed to gasp.  At his hesitation, she blurted, "What's
*your* name?  You never told me who *you* are."

Straightening up, he looked down at her and smiled, slowly revealing those
sharp looking teeth again.  'Oh, why not call them what they are, Lambert?'
she thought.  'They're *fangs*.'  Fascinated, she found herself staring at
them, wondering what it would feel like to actually be *bitten*.  She
watched as his tongue slowly ran over them, and then moistened his lips.  He
had a beautiful mouth, and his lips were full and soft.  WHAT WAS HAPPENING
TO HER??

"I have been many people in the past 800 years, Natalie ... but for now, you
may call me Nicholas," he purred in a deep, soothing voice.  "Now ... *look*
at me."

It was incredibly difficult to deny him ... why was that?  Natalie wondered
as her eyes were involuntarily drawn to his again.  They were so incredible,
those eyes.  The way they glowed, they seemed to bore right into her soul.
She wanted to stare into them forever.  She wanted to give him anything he
wanted, she *needed* him to hold her again ...

Pulling her close once more, he tipped her chin up and slowly lowered his
mouth to her throat once again.

Nat's mind was racing like a rat caught in a maze.  She was thrilled and
terrified at the same time, and she couldn't understand why she wasn't
screaming and fighting.  All she knew was that 'Nicholas' was about to bite
her, probably kill her, and she couldn't seem to find the strength, nor the
will, to resist him.

With deadly accuracy, his mouth had unerringly found her jugular again.  She
felt his arms tighten around her, holding her immobile, almost robbing her
of her breath.  His right hand was entwined within the silken threads of her
hair, tipping her head to one side.  His tongue stroked her throat, leaving
a cool, wet trail.  She could hear his breathing become erratic, and the
growling increased in volume and depth.  Closing her eyes in carnal terror,
she waited for the sting of his fangs ...

End Part 2/3


C. Brady
fbrady@...

The following story is my take on what happened *after* Nick woke up on
Nat's autopsy table in 'Only The Lonely'.  I'm afraid I've taken liberties
with canon--hope everyone will look the other way over that.  <g>

There was a post that appeared on the NNPack list in the early spring that
intrigued me right from the beginning.  Someone (I'm sorry, I don't remember
who) put forth the theory that vampires are capable of *two* types of
hypnotism, each distinctly different.  One is used to try to manipulate a
mortal's mind, i.e. plant a thought, erase a memory, or some other form of
influence.  The other is a hunting skill, used on an intended victim ... and
is much more powerful.  I've incorporated this theory into my story.

My heartfelt gratitude to my two wonderful beta readers, Heather-Anne Gillis
and Lea Condren.  You two ladies are the best!  If there's any mistakes
here, they're all mine!  <g>

The world of FK and its characters were created by James Parriott and
Barney Cohen, and belong to Sony/Tristar.  No copyright infringement is
intended.

Permission to archive is given to: the UCC website, the DarkNN website, and
Mel's FK fanfic site.  No other permission is given to reprint, repost or
reuse.

This is dedicated, with love and appreciation, to Heather-Anne, who will be
celebrating her birthday on October 16th.  Happy Birthday, sweetheart ...
this one's for you!  :-)


One Lonely Knight
By: C. Brady
Written in October, 1999

Part 1/3

Natalie sat working diligently at reducting the pile of paperwork that had
somehow accumulated on her desk.  She sighed deeply, feeling slightly
depressed that she was spending her birthday buried up to her neck in mounds
of official forms.

Today, she'd turned 28.

Whoopee.

It had actually been her day off, but she had volunteered to come in anyway
... it's not like she actually had a *life* outside of this office.  Being
the youngest doctor on the Metropolitan Toronto Coroner's Office payroll,
she found herself constantly working harder, longer, and with more intensity
than any of her other colleagues.  She felt she had to prove herself ...
prove that she deserved her place here.

She'd just completed an autopsy on a seventy-three-year-old man who had been
found dead in his apartment, and was now determined to finish her report on
the case.  Her shift started at five p.m.; it was now shortly after eleven,
and she would work until five a.m.  Twelve hour shifts were a necessary
evil, all part of the job ... and as the new kid on the block, *she* got to
work the graveyard shift.

Whoopee again.

Natalie returned her attention to the forms in front of her, then was
distracted by the sound of a gurney being pushed down the hallway outside of
her office.  The doors opened and Eddie, one of the morgue assistants,
pushed the stretcher into the autopsy suite, and brought it to a stop beside
the stainless steel table.

Rising to meet him, her eyes automatically going to the black body bag
cocooning her newest case, she asked,

"What is it, Eddie?"

"It's a bad one.  You're going to wish you'd spent your 28th birthday at
Pizza Palace, or something," he answered.

Straining to help Eddie transfer the heavy bag from the gurney to the table,
Natalie noted that blood was literally flowing out of the bag, and there was
a large puddle left behind on the gurney.  She asked,

"Who is it and what happened?"

"They couldn't find any I.D.  People who saw him before the explosion ..."

"Explosion??"  Natalie interrupted, feeling her stomach start to churn.

"He tried to stop a gang-robbery.  Someone threw him a pipe-bomb for his
trouble," Eddie informed her, and then continued, "It's a real mess ... at
least there's not much of a face to look at."

This last sentence was uttered as Eddie backed out of the room.  Finally
giving up all pretense, he made a quick, hasty exit.

Nat wished she could follow him.  The thought of having to piece together a
victim that had been blown apart was definitely *not* on her list of 'Fun
Things To Do On Your Birthday.'  But this was her job, and she was going to
have to get her squeamishness under control, and get on with it.

Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, and steeling herself against what she
was about to see, she started to unzip the bag.

Natalie stared, unbelieving, at the man being slowly revealed to her gaze.
*He* had just been blown up?  Eddie said there wasn't much of a face to look
at ... but the face *she* was looking at, while being cut and bruised,
looked to be in surprisingly good shape.  As a matter of fact ... it was a
rather *handsome* face.

"This isn't so bad ... " Natalie spoke aloud.  "It's not so bad at all ... "
she said, gently stroking the blond man's cheek.  What a horrible shame, he
didn't appear to be much older than she was ... perhaps early thirties?  How
sad to have his life end in this way.  Unzipping the bag the rest of the
way, she was shocked to find that the rest of him looked to be as unharmed
as his face.  *What* was going on?

Turning away, Nat walked over to her desk and called upstairs.  There must
be some kind of mistake.  A mix-up in the tagging process, perhaps?
*This* was certainly no bombing victim!

Natalie got the Records Office and gave the I.D. tag number.  She was
informed that this was indeed the victim of the pipe bomb.  Nat's confusion
grew.

"No, there must be some kind of mistake," she said.  "This is no bomb victim
... this guy looks like he just barely cut himself shaving this morning."

Once again she was told, rather curtly this time, that this WAS the bomb
victim, and that the Records Department was a very busy place.  Did she have
another question?  She'd barely drawn in a breath to say "No", when the
connection was broken.  Feeling incensed at being hung up on, she was about
to hit 'redial' when she heard a sound behind her.  Thinking that Eddie had
screwed up enough courage to return, she turned around ...

... and felt as if she had suddenly entered the 'twilight zone'.

End Part 1/2

C. Brady
fbrady@...

G'day mates!

Okay! It's time for an update!

1. For those of you who have not visited the Raven website recently, I have
added a 4th category to the competition.

Novus Adultus - Much as the title implies, this is a strictly NC17 category
for Novus entrants only.
<eg> Come on....I KNOW you're just dying to write it!<eg>

2. Also, I have had a few requests for stories which have recently been
posted to other lists, to be allowed into the competition.
So this is the official ruling!
Any Fiction posted after the 15th of October MAY be ENTERED. BUT! It must
ONLY go into the Primus or Adultus categories. No further leeway will be
given in this regard, so please don't ask!<g>

Hmm. Okay I think that's it for now.<g> I shall look forward to seeing what
you've got!

Any other questions etc, please ask:
Kylie.
knightraven@...
"What a wonderful thing humanity is...Passionate, intelligent, inquisitive,
generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit, and above all...delicious!"
Check out the Raven Awards at my webpage!!
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
Join the Raven Awards for Forever Knight Fiction at
http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards

Congratulations to Cousin Tammy for being our first entrant!!<g>
Okay! Who's next?!<g> I want more!

Kylie - the FK glutton!
knightraven@...
"What a wonderful thing humanity is...Passionate, intelligent, inquisitive,
generous, full of hope and joy, noble of spirit, and above all...delicious!"
Check out the Raven Awards at my webpage!!
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/knightraven
Join the Raven Awards for Forever Knight Fiction at
http://www.onelist.com/community/ravenawards

A Matter Of Need (Part 02/02)
By Rogue Cousin Tammy

DISCLAIMER:

1) I do not own any of these characters.  I have only borrowed them to put
them through the paces of my insanity.  JP, Sony and Paragon own them.  I
leave them in much better shape than they did in the end.

2) This story contains explicit m/f sex.  More to the point it contains
explicit sex with Schanke and Natalie.

********************************************************

For a moment Schanke was floored, Natalie Lambert, "sort-of" girlfriend to
his partner "the Knightmare" was kissing him.  It felt so good though, so
natural and he missed the affection that had been absent since Myra had gone
away that the shocked thoughts were overcome by instinct.

Natalie didn't know how or why she had ended up kissing her friend's lips,
but when she felt his lips part and his warm tongue gently probe her mouth,
her mouth opened and her tongue met his.  Their tongues danced in each
other's mouths wrestling.  There were no worries of fangs, no pushing away,
just passion and need.

Don pulled Natalie closer, enjoying the soft press of her body against his
chest.  Her arms wrapped around his neck and he could feel one of her hands
tangled in his hair.  One of his hands slowly dropped until it rested
comfortably against the curve of her ass.

The sheer mundaness of the situation was an aphrodisiac to Natalie.  She
could feel Don's manhood hardening, through his pants, against her leg.  His
heart was pounding, his mouth tasted of garlic and tomato.  One of her hands
slipped down and started stroking his growing hard-on.  He responded to her
touch like she was the most desirable woman in the universe.  Right now
there was only Natalie and Don in the universe they were sharing and she
wouldn't have it any other way.  Her hand moved up to start unbuttoning his
pants.

Don pulled back a little as he felt Nat's hand venture to unfasten his
pants.  He was about to bring up all the reasons why they shouldn't
continue; a little heavy petting was one thing but sex was quite another;
when he saw the look in Nat's eyes.  The lust, the need and the fear.  He
didn't understand why, but it was obvious that Natalie had been turned down
alot and he could guess by who.  That moment made up his mind, they both
needed each other.  "Maybe we could take this somewhere more comfortable?"
Don asked gently.  Natalie nodded and he helped her to her feet.

She led him to her bedroom and Don pulled her back into his arms by the edge
of the bed.  They stood kissing gently, then Don turned his attention to
freeing Natalie from the constraints of her blouse and pushed the fabric
away from her silky skin.  Natalie did likewise, loosening his tie then
turning her attention to the dress shirt he wore.  Her fingers brushed
through the curls of chest hair that covered him, his swarthy skin and dark
hair such a contrast to the object of her fantasies. 'But this isn't
fantasy... This is reality.'  Her mind reminded her.  Maybe that was why she
and Nick could never get things together.  Somewhere along the line reality
and fantasy had merged for her, but you still couldn't have a real
relationship with a fantasy.  Which is what a vampire was...  Natalie pulled
herself back to concentrating on Don.  Don was very definitely real.

They slowly undressed one another, kissing and cuddling as they did.  Don
gently pushed Natalie down against her bed, leaning over her and kissing his
way from her lips, down her neck and over her collarbone.  His lips were
rough against her skin, not inhumanly soft, and they were hot, not chill but
they succeeded in inflaming her desire.  As his lips found her first nipple,
he pulled into his mouth, rolling it gently between his lips, his tongue
flicked it's sensitive nub, forcing it to become fully erect in his mouth
then he started sucking it.  Then he took one of her breasts in each of his
hands, fondling each soft globe, gently squeezing and massaging the tender
flesh.  He pushed her breasts together and started alternating suckling the
now fully erect nipples.  Natalie gasped and arched her back, the heat of
his mouth and the intense attention he was giving was enough to push her to
the edge, but not to allow her to cross the boundary into ecstasy.

Don worshiped Natalie's breasts happily and could have done so for hours,
but the attention he was paying her was already taking it's toll on the
beautiful coroner.   He could tell by her moans, and the way she squirmed
beneath him.  Somewhat sadly, he gave each one of her breasts a 'farewell
for now' kiss and started trailing kisses down the slightly rounded contour
of Natalie's stomach.  Don liked that Natalie had filled out over the last
year, when he and Nick had started working together she'd been beautiful but
a little too boyish for his tastes, now she was absolutely perfect.  Not
that he had expected to be in this position.  He worked his way down to
Natalie's pussy and nuzzled her, reveling in the feel of her silky pubic
hair and drinking in the scent of her womanhood.  He gently pulled apart her
outer lips with gentle pressure, and slipped his nimble tongue in to tickle
her inner lips.  Natalie squirmed and Schanke felt her hand press against
the top of his head.  Don smiled inwardly, it used to be an in joke that he
had lost his hair that way.

Natalie trembled as she felt Don's tongue invade her inner regions.  At
first he tickled and caressed her inner lips making her shake with pleasure
and her pussy to become even wetter.  Then his tongue touched her clit, a
gentle tap only, it was as though an electric shock pulsed through her body.
Natalie yelped, the pleasure was so close to pain.  It had been a long time
since her pleasure had not been totally self induced, that this felt so
close to heaven, Natalie was sure she had died.  Suddenly her clit was
surrounded by the same intense sucking that had so recently encased her
sensitive nipples and she felt a pair of thick fingers stroking in and out
of her slick canal.  Natalie felt as though lightning had struck her body
and every muscle in her body was contracting in pleasure because of it. "Oh
god, Don..." was actually audible until it became carnal scream of ecstasy.

Don lapped contentedly at the flood of nectar flowing from Natalie's hot
slit as the muscles of her pussy contracted convulsively around his fingers.
When Natalie's cry reached his ears, he was frozen in mid-motion.  He had
been completely prepared to hear his partner's name come from Natalie's lips
in the the throws of her orgasm.  Don turned his attention back to Natalie
with a vengeance, making every aftershock a pleasure with a gentle kiss or
suck.  As she began to quiet, Don moved up to lay beside her.

Natalie lay quietly for a few moments.  Who would have thought Don would be
such a proficient lover.  'Teach you not to judge a book by it's cover,
Lambert', Natalie scolded herself.  She rolled over and looked into her
unlikely partner's eyes.  She leaned in to kiss his lips, enjoying the taste
of herself mixed with Don's own unique flavor.  Her hand ventured low and
wrapped around his hard cock.  He had paid such sweet attention to her
without thinking of himself.  Natalie was surprised by the girth of it, her
fingers wouldn't meet by far, yet it wasn't much longer than average.  She
looked down, then quickly brought her eyes back to meet Don's.

"I know Nat...  It's been called a pop can more than once," Don said gently,
"You know you don..." Don was stopped in mid word with a groan as Natalie
began to stroke his thick rod gently up and down.

"I want you, Don"  Natalie said firmly.  She kissed his chin and traced his
jaw with her tongue, inhaling his own musk and cologne.  Now it didn't seem
as bad as it had in the past.

"You could do for me, what I did for you."  Don offered.  Natalie was
beginning to look hurt, so he continued, "Look, sweetheart I want you too,
but I don't have protection and I'm not... Well it's just not safe."

Now Nat understood.  He was trying to protect her, even if her needs were
pushing her to do things she wouldn't normally.  Natalie rolled over and
reached into the drawer of her bedside table.  Inside she knew there was a
box of condoms bought around February when she had thought that she and Nick
might actually be getting somewhere.  True to her normally practical nature,
she hadn't wanted to take the risk of having a large amount of Nick's bodily
fluids inside of her, considering what -all- of his bodily fluids were.
Funny, how something like that made her do something practical yet sleeping
with Nick, a creature that fed on people like her seemed totally reasonable
and desirable.  Before her mind could destroy their mood, Natalie turned
over again to face Don condom in hand.  She pulled apart the package and
stretched the latex sheath over Don's hard prick.  "I want you..." Natalie
re-iterated as she pushed him onto his back and straddled his groin.
Holding his cock, she slowly lowered herself down enjoying the stretching
sensation that rippled through her as her damp, hot pussy allowed him
entrance.

Don groaned as he felt himself encased inside of her body.  She was so tight
Schanke felt like he was in High School again. Nat slowly started to raise
her body off of his, releasing his cock from the strangle hold she held him
in.  Then she slid back down, the muscles inside of her rippling down the
length of his manhood as she did.  He bucked up to met her slow grind down,
but she just grinned evilly and pulled herself back up again, reaching down
to stroke and squeeze his swollen balls.  She was making it entirely clear
that she was in control of this party.  Don lay back down against the
mattress and let himself relax into the sensations.  He could feel her pussy
gripping and flexing against his cock.  Natalie rocked her hips back and
forth as she raised and lowered herself.  Schanke looked up and her eyes
trapped his with their smoky, passion filled glance.  Then like some erotic
dancer, she added a circular grind to her pattern as though she was
listening to some inner rhythm that only she could hear.  Her breasts
jiggled provocatively in time to that rhythm, inviting Don's touch.  He
reached up and squeezed them gently, flicking his thumbs against her nipples
in encouragement.  With his cock aching in need for release, Don was very
tempted to start bucking against her, but instead held back wanting Natalie
to complete her erotic dance in her own time.

Natalie felt the need inside her building with each time her motions caused
Don's cock to tap her g-spot.  Her pussy was tingling with the sensations,
the stretched feeling, the slick heat of her sexual arousal, the incredible
fullness of having Don's cock embedded inside of her.  As the sensations
increased, so did her motion, and as her motion increased so did the
sensation until she was a veritable dervish, spinning out of control on top
of Don.

Don watched Natalie as she seemed to fling herself at her climax.  Her hair
swirled around her like a whirlwind, and her expression took on the look of
a frenzied wild animal.  Don couldn't hold back any longer.  He pumped up
into her, pistoning in the rhythm she set, pushing them both to climax.  He
felt the pressure building exponentially in his balls and his prick began to
twitch of it's own volition.  Then suddenly there was a bright light in his
eyes and his body felt as though it was on fire as it bucked up, pressing
his thick cock deeper inside of Natalie.

Natalie felt Don spasm beneath her and his cock planted itself against her
g-spot.  Her back arched in pleasure as the fireworks went off inside of her
mind and body for the second time tonight.  Her pussy clenched Don's manhood
trying in vain to pull his jism from his balls into her waiting womb.
Natalie felt herself tingling in pleasure then she slowly collapsed against
Don's chest exhausted.

****************

Natalie awoke the next morning surrounded by Don's thick arms and covered by
her down comforter, her head nestled against his chest.  She stayed there in
the protective comfort of his grasp, not wanting to emerge from it.  She
stole a glance down between their bodies and found with some relief that Don
had removed the condom after they had made love, even if she had been too
exhausted to care.

Don had been awake for sometime.  Admiring Natalie as she slept.  Nick was
certifiable.  Don sighed.  Nick.  It would kill his partner to know, it
would kill Natalie if Nick ever found out.  So he never would.  Almost as
though she could hear his thoughts Natalie had awoke at that point.  Don had
continued to pretend he was asleep, to see what she would do.  When she
seemed reluctant to leave his grasp and showed no sign of regret, he spoke,
"Mornin' sweetheart."  He kissed her gently on the lips.

Natalie kissed him back fully, trying to communicate every emotion she had
in her heart in one kiss. After pulling away she responded, "Morning."
Natalie smiled, as much as she should have been feeling regretful that this
had happened she didn't.  The only thing she would regret was if Myra found
out and that it hurt her friend's happy life.  She was grateful that he had
shared the sweet normalness of his life with her.  For one night she had
been normal, even if it had never been her fate to be such.  She was
grateful to Myra too, though Don's wife would never know the cause.
Whatever problem had given Schanke cause to be with her last night, she
vowed she would help him to resolve it no matter what the cost to herself.
"Breakfast?" she asked gently.

"Sure..." Don slid from the bed.  He looked towards the bathroom.

"You go first and shower..." Natalie said with a little regret, "I'll start
breakfast."

"Right,"  Don sighed.  The night really was over.

Natalie put on a pot of coffee and pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge.
She started making scrambled eggs and toast, when Don came out slightly wet
and dressed in his clothes from last night.  "I'll have to hit my house
before going to work."  He put his hand over hers, "Let me tend the eggs
while you shower."

Natalie did as she was instructed and returned to a table set and breakfast
waiting.  They sat at the table in a quiet silence while they ate.  Then
suddenly, as they finished, both started at the same time "You know if..."
Natalie said "Nick", while Schanke said "Myra" and they both said "wasn't"
again together.  Then they both stopped.  There was no point in finishing
the thought, both knew what the other meant and both knew it would never be.

"Natalie,"  Schanke started, "I don't know why Nick won't do with you, what
I did last night, but you have to know it's got nothing to do with you.  My
partner is smart enough to know what he wants.  If something's keeping you
apart, never doubt that it has nothing to do with you and if Nick could fix
it, he would and would be with you in a flash.  Forever."

Natalie nodded.  Her eyes a little misty.  Somehow Schanke saying it made
something she doubted every day since she and Nick had met that much more
real.  "You know you can talk to me about whatever's up with you and Myra
right?"

Don nodded.  "I was an idiot Nat.  As big a one as our boy wonder can be at
his worst.  Sometimes I wonder why Myra ever married me..."

"That's easy... Because you are kind, and gentle.  You have a heart as big
as Texas.  You're funny and smart.  And most of all because you are ... you,
Don Schanke."  Natalie reached across the table and took Don's hand.

"Do you think she'll forgive me, Nat?"  Don asked, squeezing her hand.

"I would." Natalie said simply.  Don nodded, rose from his seat and picked
up his jacket.  Natalie followed, opening the door for him.  "This is our
secret."  They both said at the same time and started to laugh.  "See you at
the office, Schanke." Natalie reached up and kissed him on the cheek.  Don
stepped into the hallway and felt the door close behind him.  The magic of
the night was really over.

FINIS...

***************************

Comments to tabby_katt@...

A Matter Of Need (Part 01/02)
By Rogue Cousin Tammy

DISCLAIMER:

1) I do not own any of these characters.  I have only borrowed them to put
them through the paces of my insanity.  JP, Sony and Paragon own them.  I
leave them in much better shape than they did in the end.

2) This story contains explicit m/f sex.  More to the point it contains
explicit sex with Schanke and Natalie.

**********************************************

Schanke watched as his partner stormed out of the morgue.  'And that is why
they call him the "Knightmare",' Schanke thought to himself.  Although
Schanke knew Nick would never hurt Natalie, he still felt he should check on
the coroner.  Remind her that no matter what his partner and her argued
about that Nick still cared about her and not to take it to heart.  Everyone
else might fall for their 'just friends' routine but not him and Myra.
'Myra', Schanke sighed mentally.  They had had an argument a few days ago
and Schanke knew it was his fault, but at the time he just couldn't
apologize.  'Damn fool pride', he scolded himself mentally.  Myra had gone
to stay with her mother and Schanke was now afraid that he'd stepped over
the line. That she wouldn't come back, even if he apologized.  Schanke shook
himself free of the doubts that plagued him, right now one of his best
friends needed his help.

As he stepped into the morgue he gave her a hearty, "Hey Nat"  to warn her
that he was entering so she could hide whatever tears she might have shed.
She quickly looked up at him, disguising her wiping her eyes and nose as
symptoms from a cold, a trick he'd seen Myra do a hundred times.  He
shuddered, as much as he wanted to kick Nick's ass for making Nat cry, he'd
deserved his ass kicked too.

"Nick already got the results, Schank," she said in a snuffly voice, "Damn
cold."

"They've been going around,"  Schanke allowed Natalie to retain her pride,
"I came in to ask if you wanted to catch a coffee and a bite with me since
our shifts are over.  With Myra and Jennie visiting her Mom, I'm at loose
ends and I figured with that macrobiotic diet Nick is on that you might want
a dinner companion who'd actually eat with you."  Natalie seemed a little
reluctant, so he turned on the puppy dog eyes, knowing the doctor was a
sucker for sad eyes and someone who needed her help.

Natalie nodded, "Sure Schanke... Sounds good to me.  Just no souvlaki."

"Food of the gods, Nat.  You don't know what you're missing."  Schanke
teased as he picked up her coat and held it out for her.

As she slipped into her coat, she smiled back at him, "No way, Schanke.
Food of the gods, other than chocolate, is the goulash my grandmother used
to make for my brother and I.  It was thick and spicy and I used to love
just sitting in the room smelling it as it cooked."  Natalie's eyes clouded
with memories.

Schanke couldn't see how goulash could be that good, but he was willing to
go along with it.  "Sounds great.  Wish I could have tried it..."

Natalie smiled, "Really?"

"Sure," Schanke smiled back.

"I have the recipe..."  Nat ventured.  Schanke was probably missing a good
home cooked meal and she never got to cook for someone who'd appreciate it
other than herself and Sydney.  She took a deep breathe and continued, "I'm
no Myra, but we could go back to my place and I'll cook."

"If you're sure... We've both worked a long shift."  Schanke hadn't expected
Natalie to want to cook for him, but whatever would perk his friend up.

"I'm sure.  Let's go."  Natalie led Schanke out of the office by the hand.

*******************************

Natalie buzzed about the kitchen cutting in vegetables into the already
simmering goulash.  Schanke sighed as he sat at her kitchen table.  Natalie
was right the smell of the stew was heavenly.  It was obvious to Schanke
that one of Natalie's hobbies was cooking.  Her kitchen was too well
equipped for it not to be.  Nick definitely needed his ass kicked.  Not
marrying a girl who was this intelligent and cooked too.  'And beautiful to
boot...' Schanke thought as he watched her.  Suddenly he felt very
uncomfortable just sitting there.

"Hey Nat,"  Schanke stood up and walked into the cooking area, "Can I help
with something?"

"Can you boil pasta shells and cut up the green peppers at the same time?"
Natalie asked and held out a knife.

"I'll give it a try..."  Schanke took the knife, setting it on the counter
and filling the large pot with water.

Natalie turned her attention to some of the other vegetables and soon enough
they were working happily in tandem.

********************

"Smell's great, Nat."  Schanke was busily setting the table.

"You helped, Don." Natalie replied as she carried out the huge serving bowl
of goulash.

"That looks heavy." Schanke reached out a took the heavy bowl from Natalie.
Grimacing in pain as he did.  To his credit he didn't drop it and he did set
it gently on the table.  Then he started shaking his hands in pain.

Natalie looked amused as she set the oven mitts on the table, "You thought I
was wearing the oven mitts for fun, maybe?  Let me see them."  She took his
hands and inspected them, "A little toasted but no serious burns."

Schanke grinned sheepishly, "I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to
do..."  He shrugged and sat down at the table as Natalie went back into the
kitchen.  "Hey you called me Don..."

"I figured I should be on a first name basis with someone I shared a kitchen
with.  Besides we made a good team."  Natalie held out a bottle and
corkscrew to Schanke.

"Since the bottle's not green, I know it's not Nick's."  Schanke took the
items from his friend. "Chilean.  Good with beef."

"Yeah, trust me Nick's vintage doesn't go well with a meal..."  Natalie
sighed sadly and turned her attention to serving the food.

"One of those dessert wines, eh?"  Schanke asked trying to lighten the
subject as he worked on getting the cork out.

"Something like that."  Natalie replied as she dished a large helping onto
Schanke's plate.

Schanke picked up her wine glass and filled it, then did the same with his
own as Natalie dished out a plate full for herself.  "Damn, I forgot the
garlic bread."  Natalie growled in frustration.

"No problemo... Let me go get it."  He scooped up the oven mitts from the
table and slipped into the kitchen.  He came back a few minutes later with a
basket lined with a red linen napkin and filled with a half cut loaf of
garlic bread.

"Very nice, Don."  Natalie smiled as he offered her the basket before he sat
down opposite her at the table.  "Where did you learn that?"

Schanke blushed a little, "In high school I worked as a waiter in an Italian
restaurant."

"I didn't think you were as new to kitchen duty as you made out."  Natalie
pointed at him with her fork.  "Go ahead and eat."

Schanke smiled at his hostess and dipped his fork into the goulash.  It
still smelled like heaven but there was no way it could be as good as
souvlaki.  Natalie watched as Schanke lifted the fork to his lips and ate
his first mouthful.  The look on his face was pure contentment and bliss as
he swallowed, "Man, oh, man... Natalie, you are one of the best cooks I have
ever met.  You should feed Nick this.  If I were him I'd propose on the
spot."  Natalie smiled, but the sadness in her eyes told Schanke he'd stuck
his foot in his mouth.  "Hey, I'm sorry Nat..."

"Don't worry about it Don.  It's okay.  Let's just enjoy this... It's the
first time I've really cooked something from scratch in about ... six
years."  Natalie started eating, putting Nick out of her mind.  Schanke
chatted as he ate.  Talking about sports, work, politics, and the food.  All
of it so normal, so human.  She was enjoying it so much she didn't even
notice how carefully he avoided mentioning Nick.  'So this is what I'm
missing'  Natalie watched Schanke.  She could see why Myra married him.  He
might not be the most handsome man on the planet, but he was nice looking.
Besides his personality made up for a lot.  He was sweet, honest and had a
great sense of humour.  'And no angst'  Nat thought to herself as she sipped
her wine.

Schanke wiped his mouth with his napkin and smiled.  "That was great, Nat.
Do you want some coffee?"

"I think I'll stick with the wine, Don."  She replied and went to sit in the
living room, "But go ahead and make a pot."  Schanke disappeared into the
kitchen until she heard the tell tale sounds of coffee brewing.  She took
another sip of her wine and relaxed in her chair.  When she realized that
Sydney hadn't made himself into a furry lump on her lap, she rose to look
for him and she thought she could hear Schanke talking to someone in the
kitchen.  She pushed in the swinging door slightly and peered in.

Schanke was crouched down, petting a furiously purring Sydney, while the cat
licked goulash from Don's finger.  "Aren't you a cute furball...  Bet you
take good care of Natalie, little guy.  You like her cooking too, eh?
You've got good taste."

Natalie grinned broadly as she stepped into the kitchen, "Are you trying to
co-opt my cat, sir?"

Schanke nearly fell backwards as he tried to stand up with an embarrassed
look on his face.  When he was finally on his feet, Sydney was madly twining
himself through Don's legs.  "No, he just looked kinda hungry and I felt
sorry that we had a nice hot meal and he didn't."

"He is a mooch...  But his food is in here."  Natalie opened the fridge door
and pulled out a tin of Fancy Feast(tm).  Sydney instantly was at Nat's
feet, rubbing and purring.  "His dish is over there."  Natalie pointed as
she pulled up the top on the can.  Schanke obediently got the dish and
brought it to Natalie.  She emptied the contents of the can into the bowl
and Schanke returned it to Sydney's mat and brought back his water bowl,
filled it and returned it, while Natalie heated a saucer of milk in the
microwave.  When it was warm, Don took that to Syd's mat as well.  After
pouring a cup of coffee for Schanke, they returned to her living room and
sat down on the couch.

Natalie turned on her stereo and some light jazz was playing on the station.
As she sat down, Schanke started without thinking "At least it's not that
Nightcrawler guy Nick listens to."  He could have kicked himself when
Natalie started to cry.  Schanke set down his cup and put his arm around his
friend.  "Shhh..."

"I'm an idiot."  Natalie started, "Someone like Nick doesn't end up with
someone like me."  She sobbed.  'Face it, Nat.' She thought as she felt
Don's arms around her, 'Men like Nick, vampires or not just don't -get-
married.'

"And he's an idiot if he doesn't.  You know Nat, I've seen the way he looks
at you.  He loves you.  He's just too stubborn to say it."  Don pulled her
against his shoulder.

"You're really sweet Don but..."  Natalie looked at him with tears spilling
from her pretty blue eyes.

Don wiped the tears away and put his hand under her chin, "Don't be silly
Natalie.  You are one of the most beautiful women I have ever met."  Natalie
started to blush and look away, but Don gently brought her face back to
looking at him, "It's because you're not just beautiful on the outside, but
in here too."  He gently touched her chest just above her heart.  "Any man
would be a fool to not see it."

"Thanks Don," Natalie bent forward meaning only to kiss his cheek, but
instead her lips found his.

End of Part One...  Part Two to follow

***************************

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